Godric's Lover
by jflan
Summary: After Godric's true death in Dallas, he leaves behind more than just Eric and Nora. As the Fae Sadie finds out about Godric she is forced to seek out different vampires for answers about his true death; in doing so, she learns more about Godric than just why and how he died.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Godric," the fairy spoke into the cell phone, a worried tone in her voice, "It's Sadie. It's been months and you haven't returned my calls." She paused trying to figure out her next thought. Throughout the thousands of years they had been together, Godric had never gone so long without responding to his love. She closed her eyes to try and focus on her message. "You have me worried" she sighed, "…and I cannot feel your energy anymore. Please, my love, let me know that you are alright. If I have not heard back from you by dawn, I will have no choice but to contact Isabel." She paused again knowing that contacting Isabel was forbidden by Godric. It was agreed that she would not enter a nest or establishment where vampires outnumbered her. This was not permitted even if Godric was with her; mostly for her own safety. Being fully fae it was not in her best interest to go anywhere where Godric could not protect her. Sadie closed her eyes trying to feel for Godric's energy. She felt nothing. "I love you" Sadie whispered into the phone before closing the silver flip phone in her hand. A tear rolled down her cheek.

Sadie wrapped the large soft green blanket closer to her body as she stared out of the large bay window. The house began to have a lonely feeling to it without Godric's energy. Sadie began to focus on her reflection and was a little taken back when she didn't recognize the thin woman looking back at her. Her light brown hair seemed dull and lifeless as it hung off her head, Sadie's cheeks had thinned out and she could see her cheekbones sitting high on her face. Her once big, deep brown eyes now sat in their sockets with bags under them. She was paler than normal. As she brought her hand up to wipe a tear away, Sadie noticed how boney her hands and fingers were. The months that passed without so much as a text message from Godric were taking a toll on Sadie physically. She knew her appearance was partly from a lack of Godric's blood running through her veins, but also, the stress she was enduring not knowing where he was. While she was older than Godric, she remained looking like that of a fit 25 year old. This night however, her appearance deceived her; she looked more like a widowed old woman.

When Godric was away on vampire business, he could be gone for months, but always made a phone call home to Sadie before dawn. From time to time, he had gotten caught up in business and had to go to ground for the day without letting Sadie know he was safe. She never doubted him. Godric was strong and well respected in the vampire community. He was also one of the oldest vampires in this hemisphere. There wasn't much that could happen to Godric that he himself could not stop.

Sadie turned away from the window and headed to the kitchen. It was a big kitchen, almost too big for one person who consumed food on a daily basis. It was a cream color with tan curtains that hung against the windows. The tan stained wood was cool beneath Sadie's feet. She moved slowly, trancelike, as she put water in the tea kettle to boil. She leaned against the island in the kitchen and watched the minutes on her phone pass. The house seemed more empty that usual. Sadie's thoughts began to consume her.

_…__Where would Godric go that he wouldn't call…_

_…__couldn't call?... That is not possible. Why would he not send a message of sorts? _

_Godric loves you, he wouldn't leave you… _

The tea kettle began to scream on the stove. Sadie was pulled from her thoughts and moved to the stove to remove the kettle from the heat. She fixed her tea and headed back to the living room. The thinning woman sat on the couch and turned the news on. It was around seven in the evening and she was hoping to catch the news. Her heart tried to convince her brain that there might be something on the news that would shed light on her lover's whereabouts. Sadie knew that the news wouldn't come out and tell the public of a vampire being in trouble, but every so often, an international cover up story would be on the news. Godric would explain the cover story to her and the real story of what was happening in the vampire world. Over the years, especially recently with vampires 'coming out of the coffin', Sadie was able to spot a cover up story before Godric had risen for the evening.

Sadie had looked at the phone again. No missed calls or texts. She flipped the phone open and scrolled through the names until she stopped at one. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She held it in, opened her eyes, and exhaled before clicking the new message symbol. She began typing.

_Eric, it's Sadie. Please call me when you have a moment. It's important. _

She stared at the message for a long moment before hitting the send button. Sadie turned her attention back to the news. There was a story about a string of dead dogs just outside of Dallas. All nine of them had bite marks and drained of blood. She had no doubt it was vampire inflicted even though the news anchor was discussing the dehydration of family pets during the Dallas heat. Sadie's phone vibrated in her hand. Her heart raced at the motion the phone made. She flipped it open hastily to find a new message from Eric.

_What is the problem? _She read on the screen. Sadie rushed to dial Eric's phone. If he was available to text, he must be available to discuss the problem. The phone rang until Eric's voicemail picked up. Sadie was irritated but also understood that Eric was busy running Fangtasia with Pam. Her history with Eric was complicated. While he was the child of her lover, it was made clear to Sadie early in Eric's existence that she was not, nor would she ever be, his mother figure the way Godric was his father and maker. She had always felt she was an inconvenience and annoyance to the Viking.

"Eric, I think something has happened to Godric." she spoke in to the phone, almost on the edge of tears, "I need to know if you have heard from him. Please call me back. Thank you." Sadie folded the phone in half again and hoped Eric would call her back tonight. She dreaded the thought of calling Isabel. Their last encounter did not end well with Isabel almost having Sadie for dinner. It pained Sadie that she could not travel with Godric but after having Isabel pin Sadie to the wall and half a dozen other vampires behind her to snack on the pure fae blood, Sadie understood the threat. There was a knock at the door. Sadie looked at the clock. 7:30 at night was a little late for unexpected visitors. She looked out of the peep hole and saw a man in a business suit adjust his tie and then check his watch. He picked up his briefcase and began to turn away from the door before Sadie cracked it open just enough for her face to peer out.

"Hello?" she asked. "Can I help you?"

"Miss Sadie Alvey?" He asked with a no-nonsense tone.

"Yes. May I help you?" Sadie asked in a guarded tone.

"My name is Charlie Weildman, I'm with the Benson and Brinks." The man stated.

"The vampire law office?" Sadie asked confused.

"Yes, ma'am. From the Dallas office." he stated as he pulled an envelope from his suit jacket. "Our office has been working with Godric of Ghal for the last several decades. He has instructed our office to deliver this should the circumstances arise." Charlie looked at the envelope. "Ma'am, I am not a vampire. May I come in?"

Sadie looked at the man cautiously. She could hear the sadness in his thoughts as he looked at her, taking in her thinned and faded state.

"Yes, please" she tried to smile but found the act difficult. Charlie entered her home and she gestured to the living room. "Please have a seat." she insisted. "Can I offer you a drink? Tea? Water?"

"No thank you. I would like to go over these papers rather quickly if that is okay?" He stammered out. Many thoughts coursed through his head, some jumbled together, some slow enough that Sadie could make out what they were. _I cannot believe I am in a vampire's home. I didn't think they had homes… just resting holes in the ground._

Sadie tried to smile at the man before her.

"What papers do you speak of?" she asked.

Charlie pulled a document out of his briefcase.

"This document allows me to speak to you of Godric of Ghal's final wishes in the event of his true death." Charlie spoke those last few words slowly as he slid the paper onto the table.

"True death?!" Sadie choked on the words, "We are speaking of Godric! Godric of Ghal… the oldest vampire in this hemisphere. How would Godric have met the true death?" Sadie was standing now, almost yelling at the man sitting in her living room, "You have got to be mistaken for who you are speaking about."

Sadie knew there was one Godric. The vampire world knew there was one Godric of Ghal. Fury rippled up her spine. How could this man, this human man, mistake a great vampire such as Godric as someone who could just meet the true death. He spoke about it as if he understood what those words meant.

"If this is a joke-" she began.

"Miss Alvey, I assure you…" he gestured to her place on the black leather couch, "Please have a seat so that I may inform you properly. This is not a joke." Tears welled up in Sadie's eyes. She did not try to hide them. "Godric, as I stated, had been working with our office for the last several decades. Twice a month, he would come in and go over his last will and testament to ensure it met his needs. With vampires becoming public, it was his wish that his final wishes be on paper in case something were to happen to him during the adjustment period." He paused to let Sadie pull herself together. "In the event that Godric not contact our offices" he pointed to a highlighted area on the document, "for a period of five straight months, our offices are to contact you. Today, it has been five months since Godric was in our office to update his paperwork." Charlie could see the despair in her eyes. "Ma'am, Godric was like clockwork. He was-"

"Is…" she corrected, "He is…"

"Godric is one of our most faithful clients." Charlie looked down at the envelope he had pulled from his suit jacket. Her name was on the front in Godric's elegant hand writing. "His paperwork asks that this be delivered to you, but that you wait until after I leave to open it." He extended his arm across to Sadie handing her the envelope from his suit jacket pocket. "Godric has also left several off shore bank accounts for you, however, they are co-signed to a Mr.…" Charlie looked through the paperwork.

"Northman." Sadie closed her eyes and sighed. She pinched the bridge of her nose in between her eyes to try and release the building stress in her head.

"Yes." Charlie confirmed. "A Mr. Eric Northman of Shreveport, Louisiana." Charlie handed her the bank account paperwork. "You will need Mr. Northman to access these accounts." He quickly scanned the next set of documents, "All assets… the houses… in Paris, Belfast, the Virgin Islands, and this one… are also left to…"

"Let me guess… Mr. Northman." Sadie had not opened her eyes yet as she finished Charlie's sentence again.

"Yes, that is correct." Charlie stated almost sounding confused. His thoughts began to question Godric. _If all of these things are left to Mr. Northman, why am I telling this woman?_

Sadie had the same thought.

"How is this house being left to Mr. Northman? It is in my name and Godric's." Sadie asked. Still not opening her eyes.

"Godric's half has been left to Mr. Northman." Charlie cleared. He handed her the paperwork for the houses. Sadie took the paperwork and began to scan it.

"Why do all of these documents say "copy" on them?" she asked a little confused.

"The originals have been sent to…" Charlie flipped through the last page, "The owner of Fangtasia. Mr. Northman." Charlie said Eric's last name slowly as if he could not believe the poor woman's luck.

Sadie sighed. This was too much. Her entire life was being given away with no explanation. She wasn't even sure what had happened to Godric. This man is throwing the terms true death around and he barely knows the weight those words carry.

"It appears that Mr. Northman is Godric's only child?" Charlie stated as she scanned the rest of the paperwork.

"No." Sadie shook her head as she looked at him, "he has a daughter as well. Nora." Sadie could feel her world falling down around her. As of this evening, she was living in Eric's house. Not the house Godric had purchased for her, but in Eric's.

"Ah, yes. I see there is another letter here I am to give to you." Charlie handed Sadie another envelope with Nora's name on the front. Again, it was written in Godric's elegant hand writing. "I believe that, at this point in time, this is all I am required to discuss with you." Charlie put yet another document in front of her, "If you could please sign here indicating that we have gone over Godric of Ghal's last will and testament and date it, I will be on my way."

Sadie just stared at the man.

"At this point in time?" she asked, thoroughly frustrated, "What is that supposed to mean? We don't even know if Godric is truly dead. This is all the information you have come to give me? You can not tell me that he has actually met the true death but you are here to tell me that my possessions have been moved to belonging to his son?" Sadie tried to keep her emotions in check.

"Miss, you still have a letter in your hand" Charlie pointed to the envelopes that were now crumpled in Sadie's fists. "We do not know what information that has to offer." He urged her to take the pen from his hand. "If you could please sign, I have other nocturnal clients I must get to before the sun comes up."

Sadie looked at the clock, it was nearly 9:00.

"Yes, of course. I'm sorry." she took the pen and signed her name on the documents. Charlie quickly picked them up and filed them into his briefcase. He stood and extended a hand to Sadie. She extended hers from inside of the green blanket she kept herself wrapped in and shook his hand. Charlie handed her his business card.

"If there is anything you need or questions you may have… please do not hesitate to call. We are staffed 24/7."

"Thank you." Sadie said leading the man to the door. With a quick glance back to her, Charlie tried to give a smile and crossed through the door way. He heard the door close softly behind him.

Sadie leaned against the front door and slid down as she stared at her name on the front of the envelope. She placed Nora's letter on the floor and flipped hers over to begin peeling the seal off of the flap. The letter was composed on a thin parchment.

_My Dearest Sadie,_

_There is much in this world that has changed. We have watched the dawning of many new eras, experienced an eternity of memories, and still, my love for you is the same as the night I first laid eyes on you. While our meeting was less than ideal, do not question the following: my love for you has never changed . If anything you have shown me how to love all who walk this earth. It saddens me that not all beings could have evolved to coexists as we have. I have done all that is within my ability to keep you safe, however, if you are reading this, it is with assurance that I have undoubtedly met the true death. I know you will be beyond sad, I can imagine the look in your eyes right now… the sadness that is there, it is the same as the night I came upon you. Do not let this sadden you. Time is of the essence now, my love. The house is not safe for you anymore. Isabel, while loyal to me at one time, may find you as an easy target in my absence. Your blood is a weakness to her; to all that are vampire. My love, please gather only what you need and go to Shreveport. Seek out my child, Eric, and give him this letter. He will know how to move forward from here. Please do not waste time with tears until you have found Eric and are in his safety. Go, Sadie. Go now. _

_With Eternal Love,_

_Godric_

Sadie sat there numb to the world around her. She could not believe that her Godric was gone. Really, truly, forever gone. She felt her chest tighten and a sickness in her stomach. She lowered herself down on to the floor and lay in the fetal position trying to block out the anger, the sadness, and the loss that was filling her soul. The cold wood floor felt good against her hot cheeks. She laid there for quite some time thinking of the words, _Go Sadie. Go now._ But she could not bring herself to move from this spot, she could barely form a thought or a sentence. She could only focus on those words and the thought of Godric trying to tell her something bad was about to happen.

Sadie crumpled the letter in her fists as she tried to fight back tears. She sat up against the door for a moment pulling herself together. Sadie heard a car door slam shut. She pulled herself up from the floor to look out the peep hole. She saw Isabel's car in the driveway; she had not exited the car yet. Isabel's human staff flooded the front yard as they exited their SUV's. Sadie knew that Isabel was old and fast. There was no way she was going to be able to out run her. As far as Sadie knew, Eric was the only vampire with the ability to fly; she did not want to find out if Isabel also possessed such an ability.

Sadie turned to run up the stairs. As she hit the top of the stairs a hard knock struck the door. Sadie stopped and stared at the door. There was no doubt that Isabel could smell her in the house. Fae were a strong smell, they smelled differently to each vampire; they smelled like what each vampire desires. Godric always said she smelled sweet, like honey and nectar sitting in the sunshine. Who knew what she smelled like to Isabel. The knock came again, harder this time.

"Sadie, it's Isabel. Darling, I know you're home. Please open the door. I have come to discuss Godric with you." Isabel said into the door. Her southern accent ringing in Sadie's ears. Sadie just stared at the door. She was grateful that Isabel still had to be invited in. When she had tried to eat Sadie, Godric insisted that Isabel's invitation to their home had been rescinded. Sadie, being fae, but living, was the only one able to do the inviting and rescinding of who was welcomed to their home. Sadie knew that Isabel could not cross the threshold to their home; she slowly continued down the hall to their bedroom to pack a few clothes in to a bag. Sadie glanced at the clock on the bedside table. The bright green lights showed 12:03am. Sun up wasn't until around 7:20 or so. Sadie knew that Isabel couldn't come into the house and she would wait until Sadie came out. That gave Sadie a few hours to figure out how to get out of the house and get to Fangtasia. It was about a three hour drive from Dallas to Shreveport. The problem was getting away from Isabel.

The front door was kicked in, sending pieces of wood from the trim flying into the living room.

"Find her." Isabel said as her human staff entered the house, "do not come back until you have her." Isabel turned her back on the front door and headed back to her car.

Sadie gasped and ran to the master bathroom. Godric had several resting places in the house. Most of the time, he just laid on the bed to die for the day, but, he ensured that more than one private place to sleep were added to the house just before vampires came out to the public. Sadie opened the linen closet in the bathroom. She bent down and slid in under the bottom shelf, feet first, closing the door as she slid in to the hidden room. As her feet touched the floor of the secret room, she replaced the small door that acted as the back of the linen closet wall. This was Sadie's favorite of the secret rooms. Godric had placed not just a bed, but a survalance camera as well in each of the rooms. It was a sort of panic room. The problem was that this concept of having multiple rooms hidden in his home was shared with Isabel long before she tried to eat Sadie. The human staff were aware of the rooms but they had no idea where to start looking.

Sadie heard boots charging through her house. Through the vents she could hear the instrumental version of Guns N' Roses' Sweet Child of Mine play. She had left her cell phone in the living room and Eric was finally calling her. Sadie closed her eyes and tried to hold her breath as she heard a body enter the bathroom.

"Clear." the word seemed to echo throughout the house as the humans checked each room for her. Sadie folded the letters addressed to herself and Nora and shoved them into the front pocket of her jeans. She knew that Godric would never create a room to safely sleep in that he could not have a secondary way to get out of. The problem was, she had no idea where to find the second door. She put her weight into the wooden boards to see if any were loose. They were firmly nailed into place. The sound of boots continued to stomp throughout her home; glass breaking as it fell to the floor and shattered, drawers being knocked over, the monitors showed furniture being tossed and kitchen cabinets being emptied. Sadie turned to press the three walls that did not hold the small door she entered from. They were all solidly in tact with the monitors sitting firmly in their place.

Sadie began to worry as she took a seat on the twin bed. Godric was clever, but she wasn't sure where he would have hid the second door. As she sat on the bed, she noticed firmness beneath the mattress. This bed was not made for her, she enjoyed a rather soft mattress she could curl up in. It was hard, like a wooden box. Perfect for someone who died each day. A thought came to Sadie as she fell from the bed onto her knees. She faced the bed and began to feel around the thinned mattress. She lifted it slightly and found a latch under the mattress. Sadie tossed it to the floor and began to undo the simple latch. The top of the bed which holds the mattress doubled as a the second door out of the secret room. Sadie lifted the door and crawled into the bed, closing the door on top of her.

It was a tight fit. Not that Sadie was ever one to actively be burdened with her weight or appearance, she was a bit relieved that she had not been eating a lot over the last few months. She slid easily through the thin passage way not knowing where it would lead her. She could hear Isabel's men continuing to move through the house; she felt as if they were directly on the other side of the walls. This made her move slowly but deliberately throughout the house. She was mad at herself for not remembering where the path lead, but she was glad it was a one way shot out of the house. Sadie knew she was moving in a down ward motion, leading her from the upstairs to possibly the basement.

She could hear the dispatch radios on the shoulders of Isabel's humans. It was Isabel's voice.

"Then burn the house to the ground." Her southern accent blasted over the radio. Sadie tried to hide a gasp as she knew the humans were on the other side of the wall. She picked up her pace and found herself exiting the tight space in the garage Godric kept for emergencies; such as this. Sadie had known about the garage but never really paid any attention to it. It was hidden below the real garage anyway and was one of Godric's many home projects he had built for times like this. The problem was that, if Godric were here, Sadie knew that she would never need to use all these emergency rooms and escape routes. He would have kept her safe. Godric had the house remodeled in case Sadie needed to escape without him. Godric, even in his true death, was s till trying to take care of Sadie.

She could smell smoke creeping behind her as she ran into the garage. They were setting the house on fire and they seemed to have started multiple fires at that.

Sadie opened the door to the midnight blue Jaguar V-8 S. She pulled the visor down and found the keys and garage door opener. She pushed the button and tossed the device into the passenger seat. She waited as the garage began to fill with smoke. The door in front of her opened. She started the engine and hit the gas not giving the car a moment to heat up. There was no defined road that lead out of the garage, located at the back of the house, just a path where trees had been removed and that lead to the main road. Sadie could see her home being engulfed by flames as she checked the review mirror.

"Turn right." the GPS chimed as Sadie reached the main road. She looked confused as the GPS had a predestined agenda for her. "Arrival time to Shreveport, Louisiana is two hours and fifty minutes." the soft voice filled the car. Godric had preprogramed the GPS to take her to Eric. Tears fell down her face and loud sobs escaped her body. Sadie gripped the steering wheel, white knuckled, and accelerated as she merged onto Eastbound I-20.


	2. Chapter 2

Eric Northman sat behind his desk at Fangtasia. He was going over e-mails he received during the day and looking over the previous night's totals. It had not been fully dark for an hour and Ginger was still lingering hoping to get Eric's undivided attention before Pam, Tara, and Lucas showed up.

"Is there anything I can get you… _master_?" Ginger asked trying to make her voice sound sexy. She was leaning on the door frame with her arms crossed trying to make her boobs appear fuller than they actually were. Eric didn't look up from his e-mails as he tried not to laugh at her. The poor girl had been glamoured so many times there wasn't much of a brain up there anymore.

"No, Ginger…" Eric responded, still not looking up at her, "I am fine."

"But, _master_… have you eaten, yet?" She sauntered into the office and sat on Eric's desk exposing all of her limbs to him. Again, he did not look up at her, but rather continued with his e-mail. She put her strappy heels on the armrest of his chair so that he could have better access to an area of his choice to bite; or to get him to notice her, Ginger wasn't sure. Eric looked up at her from his e-mail. Then he looked at her foot, her delicate ankle, up to her knee, up the length of her thigh, then up to her eyes. She was putting it out there for him with no stops. He took his finger and ran it from her ankle to her thigh where he stopped. Her legs parted for him and he rose from the desk. Sliding in between her legs he bent down to sniff her neck, she smelled like nicotine and an assortment of vitamin B supplements. Eric blew softly on her neck and he could see the goosebumps rise across her skin. Her skimpy attire left nothing to the imagination.

"Oh Ginger…" he whispered next to her ear.

"Yes, master…" Ginger closed her eyes and sighed, "What do you wish of me?"

"I wish…" he whispered sensually in her ear, "For you to do your _fucking_ job and fill the True Blood coolers behind the bar, get Pam and Tara whatever they need for tonight, and make sure Lucas is set by the front door." Eric pulled away from Ginger and took his seat back behind the desk and continued with his e-mail. Ginger Hopped off of the desk and pouted towards the office door. "And Ginger…" Eric spoke softly as she turned to face him, "If you ever put dirt on my leather chair again, I will rip your leg from your fucking hip." He waved her off before refocusing on his work. Ginger rolled her eyes when she was sure Eric wasn't looking and headed back out to the bar.

Eric's phone made a ding noise followed by a soft series of vibrations. He retrieved the small black gadget from his pocket and stared at it for a moment before deciding to open the message. The sender of the message was someone he had not wanted to talk to yet. Not this soon after Godric's true death. She was going to have questions and he was not ready to address them yet. He was not sure he could even handle hearing Godric's name out loud without getting emotional. Eric opened the message.

_Eric, it's Sadie. Please call me when you have a moment. It's important. _

Eric could feel deep down that she was beginning to worry about Godric. He was particularly fond of Godric's lover but always knew in the back of his mind, there was something in her past that both her and Godric kept a secret. She was beautiful and the smell of her blood was something to be cherished. He understood why Godric protected her so closely. The only other woman who came close to smelling as delightful as Sadie was Sookie. Eric tried to keep from getting too close to Sadie as he knew what it would do to Godric. He could not, nor did he want to, be in trouble with his maker over a woman.

_What is the problem? _Eric responded. He had barely set the phone down on his desk before a ring tone he didn't recognize began singing from his phone.

_Up where they walk, up where they run  
>Up where they stay all day in the sun<br>Wandering free_

_Wish I could be, part of that world_

Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, filled the office as the phone continued to ring. Pam appeared in the door. Her purple corseted dress seemed to have been pulled a little extra tight this evening. Her black necklace was almost lost in her cleavage. Her hair was done up in a French twist and her black earrings dangled down almost touching her shoulders. Her legs were bare and a pair of matching purple velvet heels finished her attire.

"Another one of your jokes?" Eric asked as he lifted the phone so Pam could hear it better. She smiled at him. "Who is 'Fairy Princess' Pam?" She held back a laugh. "I know it can't be Sookie…" he contemplated picking up the phone, "You've reserved the name 'Annoying Fairy Twat' for her…" As Eric said this he knew who was calling him. The playfulness in his voice left and he set the phone down. Ariel's voice faded away and the office was quiet.

"Yes, it was a joke." Pam said crossing the office to sit on Eric's desk. She sat on the opposite side of the desk with her back to Eric and her legs pointing towards the door. "It's Sadie" she said toying with a gadget on his desk. Pam had heard stories of Sadie from Eric but she had never met her. As far as Pam knew, she was just another Sookie trying to get her maker's emotions all twisted up again. Deep down, she knew Sadie was different from Sookie, she just didn't know how. Eric had not been the same since Sookie had turned him down and taken Alcide as her lover. There was a piece of Eric that was still soft for Sookie and it took all Pam had to get Eric to accept Sookie would never love him that way. Eric did a good job keeping those emotions hidden and it wasn't something he discussed anymore. Pam was all too happy to agree that Sookie and her damage done to Eric was a closed discussion topic.

The cell phone made a whimsical chime indicating that Eric had an unheard voicemail. The two looked at one another but Eric did not move to listen to it.

"Does she know?" Pam asked not looking at her maker.

"She does not, but I fear that she is growing suspicious." Eric spoke to Pam's back, "Godric's true death will be known to her soon. I can feel it." He looked away from Pam, "This is not a discussion I want to have with her." Pam could hear emotions building in his throat, "I am not ready."

"It's not fair that she doesn't know, Eric." Pam said turning around to catch Eric's gaze. He would not look at her. "I would pissed if I went months before someone told me you had met the true death" Pam slammed the gadget onto his desk. "I would be pissed if people who were like family kept that a secret from me."

Eric lowered his gaze but still would not look at Pam. She was not picking a fight with him, but ensuring he knew the ramifications of keeping such a secret. For a moment their roles were reversed. She was in the parenting role scolding the child for making a poor decision.

"The longer you keep this a secret" she said, "The harder it will be when she does find out."

"When who finds what out?" Tara asked strutting into the office.

"No one." Eric said standing and pushing past Pam to exit the office.

Tara shot Pam a look and Pam brought her hand up in a 'let it go' fashion.

"I think Lucas got into something bad again." Tara said busying herself with a bottle of True Blood. Eric s topped to listen, but did not face the two women "He's got them damn sunglasses on again." Tara laughed. "Who the hell does he think he is? Blade?"

Eric disappeared and Pam walked up to Tara taking her bottle of True Blood. She took a drink and handed it back to her child. Pam licked her lips in a teasing way before leaving Tara in the office to finish her snack.

"Lucas!" Eric shouted and motioned for the vampire to meet him by the bar. Lucas was almost as tall as Eric and was built like a football player. He had short black hair and a firm squared jaw line. Eric pulled the sun glasses off of Lucas's face to reveal his dark emerald eyes. He had blood shot eyes and his eye lids were a pinkish hue. His eyes looked like round Christmas tree ornaments. Had Lucas been human, it would appear that he had pink eye. "What happened to you?" Eric asked taking Lucas's chin and turning his head from side to side examining his eyes.

"I think I got a junkie after closing last night" Lucas confessed. "Leaving here, I was starving."

Eric released Lucas's face and gave him his sun glasses back. "I just grabbed someone before going to ground for the day."

"Do you feel weak?" Eric asked leaning casually on the bar, not at all amused with his employee's poor decision making.

"No. I feel tired. I ate just before sunrise."

"You still have drugged blood in your system." Eric grabbed two bottles of True Blood from behind the bar and gave them to Lucas. "Drink these before the doors open. Try to flush your system. I'll get you something more… fresh… before you leave here tonight."

"Thank you, Sir." Lucas said, his deep voice booming through the quiet bar. He was relieved that Eric didn't fire him on the spot. Eric had taken Lucas in when his maker had bailed on him several months ago. Eric appreciated his intimidating size and that Lucas could admit he needed guidance to survive. His maker, a vampire Eric did not know, had made Lucas and released him before a week had passed. Eric assured Lucas that he would take him in and teach him what he could in exchange for working at the club. Lucas worked faithfully for Eric and Eric secretly kept extra tabs on new vampires in his district who might be Lucas's maker. Eric would make sure this vampire, who abandoned his child would go before the new council and magistrate. It was a crime to leave such a young vampire alone, it was also a law that was not enforced.

"Be more careful next time, Lucas. I would hate to lose you as an employee because you can't acquire a proper diet." Eric said heading back to the office. He opened the closet door in the office and picked a deep crimson tie off of the hanger. He did the top button on his shirt and fixed the tie before pulling his collar down. Eric then grabbed the black suit coat that matched his black suit pants and put it on. He headed back out to the bar which started to fill with vampires, fang-bangers, tourists, and regular customers. Pam stopped Eric to fix a stubborn strand of hair that would not submit to the shape in which Eric had gelled the rest of his hair. Their motions were too fast for human eyes, but the vampires could easily tell that this was his child. She was allowed to touch him in such ways; had it been anyone else, he probably would have ripped their fingers off.

"Stop fussing." He said to Pam as he moved around her and headed for his throne. Eric lounged in his throne, tossing his head back trying to forget about Godric, Sadie, Sookie, and all of the emotions those three names made him feel. Emotions were for the weak and Eric had worked too hard to ensure that vampires, humans, and who ever crossed his path that he was not weak. He needed to reclaim his once feared reputation that seemed to be knocked out of balance when Sookie crossed his path. Eric needed to not have weaknesses. He needed to shut down. Eric closed his eyes and tried to think of nothing, but all his mind would let him see was Sookie. The way the light illuminated her hair, how soft her skin was, how warm she felt against his cold skin, how that white and red dress she wore the first time he saw her with Bill Compton hugged all of her curves. Eric could not un-see all of her. He reminisced of her nakedness, how she laid before him in the woods when King Bill had freed him for Sookie's sake. The thought of Sookie on all fours in front of him as he felt her from the inside crept into his mind. It was a memory he was happy to have. Eric missed her smile, the way she laughed, and the way she made him feel important. He kept his eyes closed as he fought to keep her picture in his mind, but Sookie's face aged slightly, only a year or two, and her beautiful, straight blond hair darkened to a soft wavy light brown. Her eyes became a sparkling hazel and Sadie now filled his thoughts. She smiled at Eric but it was a sad smile. The light around Sadie darkened and a monster ripped out her throat. Blood splattered everywhere and as Sadie fell to the ground, the monster turned to look at Eric. The monster was Godric.

Eric's eyes flew open. It took him a slight second to realize that he was working. It wasn't common for vampires to experience dreams. Pam felt Eric's unease and stopped mid pour to look at her maker. This caused Tara to feel the worry in Pam; she too, stopped to assess the situation with Pam. Eric nodded to the two women running his bar to let them know he was okay. Pam began to feel Eric calm down and this calmness flowed through to Tara. They resumed fulfilling their bar orders while Eric slipped past a group of fang-bangers crowded around the stage his throne sat on and exited to the back office. He loosened his tie and opened the back door to get some fresh air. It was around midnight when Pam came to the office. Eric heard the clacking of her heels from down the hall before she even stepped foot into the room.

"Are you okay?" She asked; her voice dull.

"I am fine, Pam."

"There is a Charlie Weidlman from Benson & Brinks here to see you." She said raising an eyebrow. "Says he is here from Dallas."

"Does he have an appointment?" Eric asked quietly, still not able to overcome slight dream he encountered.

"No." Pam said feeling annoyed, "But he said it is regarding Godric's assets." She paused, "He smells delicious." She smirked.

"Send him back." Eric closed the door and began to fix his tie again, "Unbitten." He clarified for Pam. Within moments Charlie was walking into Eric's office.

"Mr. Northman." Charlie extended a hand out to Eric. He was taken back at how tall and intimidating the vampire was.

"Mr. Weildman, please" Eric gestured for him to sit down without shaking his hand. "What can I do for you this evening?" Eric leaned back in his leather chair and put his feet up on his desk.

"I have been instructed to bring you a list of Godric of Ghal's final wishes and assets upon his true death." Charlie began.

"And you know for a fact that Godric has met the true death?" Eric questioned already knowing the answer. This was not what he wanted to be dealing with tonight.

"Godric left specific instructions for our offices to begin turning over accounts and assets after he stopped visiting our offices for a certain amount of time." He looked at his watch noting it was after midnight, "That deadline was yesterday."

"I see." Eric set up in his chair returning his feet to the ground, "I have already received the paperwork from your office through the mail. Why are you here, Mr. Weildman?"

Knowing that the papers had already been sent, Charlie set his briefcase down.

"Are you aware the accounts you have in your name are left for a Miss Sadie Alvey?" he asked.

"I am. That is what the paperwork stated." Eric was getting annoyed.

"I visited her earlier this evening" Charlie informed Eric, "while it is none of my business, I made the drive here to ensure that this poor woman gets what is hers. Godric was very concerned-"

"You know not what Godric was concerned with" Eric's voice grew loud, "You did not know Godric at all. If you did, you would know to keep your business to yourself and you would know that if Godric trusted me with a task concerning Miss Alvey, then I must be competent enough to handle such a task for her."

Charlie was quiet for a moment.

"I am sorry for your loss." Charlie said quietly knowing he had over stepped the line by driving to see Eric. He began to get up from his seat. "I think it important you know that Miss Alvey found out this evening of Godric's true death." With that he picked up his briefcase and wished Eric a good evening before leaving the office. Eric pulled his phone from his pocket and pressed the icon that would take him to his voice mail. Sadie's voice filled his ears.

"_Eric, I think something has happened to Godric. I need to know if you have heard from him. Please call me back. Thank you_." Eric deleted the voicemail and took a deep breath before dialing Sadie's phone. It rang and went to voicemail.

"Sadie-" Her name came out of his mouth with sadness in it, "It's Eric." he paused unsure what to say, "Please call me before sunrise." He ended the call. If he had a heart, it would have been racing. She made him almost as uneasy as Sookie. Eric returned the phone back to his pocket before pulling out a large gold envelope from the bottom drawer of his desk. The word "confidential" was stamped across the front of it and there was a "signature requested" sticker on it. Eric looked blankly at the unopened envelope that had been sitting in his desk for days. He reached over and tossed a True Blood in the microwave, waited for it to heat up, and drank the entire bottle in one gulp before discarding the glass to the trash can. He could hear the thumping of the techno music from up front and if he was capable of having a headache, he was positive he would have one. Eric took to delicately opening the envelope and reviewing the documents. A bloody tear spilled from his eyes and landed on the desk. He cleaned it off quickly and pulled the sadness down into his former gut. He would not cry. The documents indicated that the off shore accounts were left to Sadie, but Eric was the only one who cold access them. He reviewed the deeds to the houses, and then pulled out some keys that belonged to a different safety deposit boxes.

Pam entered the office.

"Eric?" she asked feeling Eric's sadness pull her from the bar.

"I am fine, Pam." he said dismissing his child. Eric refused to look at her. Pam hated to see her maker in such a state of sadness. Eric never showed emotion; he got angry, he toyed with the humans at the club, the fucked the humans until they couldn't stand or their lady parts began to bleed and then he would have dinner with them. Eric did not cry. He did not get emotional. He was not weak.

Pam waited a moment before backing out of the office and returning to her post at the bar. Eric began reviewing the documents again so he could try to give Sadie answers when she called him back.

The night went on as usual. It had been hours since Pam went to check on Eric. She could feel his sadness, but it had not deepened into a state of concern. Tara continued to work the bar with her maker and Lucas was beginning to feel better and pay better attention to who he was letting in the bar. He had finally tucked the sunglasses into his shirt pocket and adopted a cute tart to sit with him at the door for the evening. As most nights, Lucas bought the drinks for his dinner. Pam could catch a glimpse of the bottled platinum blonde that was distracting; she could catch a glimpse of her as the front door opened and closed. If Pam didn't like Lucas so much and Tara wasn't up her ass, the platinum blonde would end up her dinner tonight instead.

Pam was pretending to listen to a fang-banger who took up residence at the bar when she caught the smell of something delicious. It was a delectable smell, causing her fangs to drop instantly, and as she turned her attention towards the door, so did every vampire in Fangtasia. There were snarls and growls that waved through the patrons of the bar. In a moment, the club's "No Biting on Premises" rule just might be broken by every dead body in attendance. Whatever was about to walk through that door, had also stirred Eric out of the office. He moved quickly to meet the incoming guest before the door opened. He knew that smell and he knew it well. It wasn't washed out and mixed with human blood, it was the smell of a full blooded fairy; something most vampires never had the pleasure of smelling. It was the smell of trouble and trouble had just pulled into the parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Sadie sat in the jaguar with the engine running. She contemplated simply just walking into Fantasia without giving Eric at least a warning text. The problem was that her phone was now melted down beyond recognition. Fangtasia was packed with all sorts of beings; mostly vampires. There were more vampires at this establishment than Sadie had ever seen at the nest in Dallas. Godric used to entertain vampire guests with Isabel at the nest and it was strictly forbidden for Sadie to be there. If he wouldn't let Sadie enter the nest, there was no way Fangtasia would even be in the realm of safe by Godric's standards. Sadie watched the clock on the dashboard turn from 4:01am to 4:02am. She was by all means, mentally, emotionally, and physically exhausted. She peered over to the line of bodies trying to make their way into the club. She was fully aware of who was vampire and who was not. The humans talked mindlessly to one another while the vampires stared at the midnight blue jaguar with tinted windows. They all knew that the smell coming from inside was unlike anything they had ever smelled before.

Sadie's stress level went up. There was still more than three hours before sun rise and she needed to talk to Eric tonight. Sadie wasn't sure she would be able to make it through another day without some concrete answers about Godric's true death. She picked at the cuticles on her hands. It was a habit she formed when she needed to stall. Sadie looked at the clock again. 4:04am. She sighed and put her hand on the door latch to open the door. It swung open without any effort from Sadie and she gasped as a pair of bright blue eyes looked back at her from the outside of the car.

"Are you alright?" Eric asked. After all of the years that had passed since she had last seen Eric, his voice was still smooth, confidant, as he spoke to her. Sadie nodded her head slightly and tried to catch her breath. Eric stood and addressed the vampires standing in line who were becoming aroused at the smell wafting out of the car. "This human is mine. Retract your fangs." His voice was all business now. It amazed Sadie how he could go from speaking to her one way, to addressing a serious matter in another way. Eric could hear tiny clicks as vampires began to pull their fangs back. He offered his hand to Sadie to help her from the car. She was more frail then he remembered her. Sadie's hand felt thin and boney. There was a subdued and submissive way about her as she exited the car. This was not how he remembered her. While Eric could smell how delicious she was, he could tell she was missing nutrients in her blood. She looked up at the Viking as he closed the car door. He looked down to her and it emphasized the contrast in their height.

"Can you retract yours, Mr. Northman?" she asked sweetly. Eric heard the stress in her voice.

"It's not as easy as you might think." he responded wrapping a protective arm around her and leading her to the front door. They stopped while Lucas opened the door for them. "Lucas, if you don't retract those fangs, I will rip them from your skull." Eric threatened as they walked into the club. "This human is mine." Eric announced to the patrons of his club. "Retract your fangs and continue your business or leave!" he growled.

"Shit." Pam said watching Eric escort Sadie to the office.

"What is that…" Tara began to follow Eric to the office.

"Tara!" Pam shouted but it did no good. Pam, feeling irritated, spoke the only words she knew to get Tara to leave Eric and Sadie alone, "Tara, as your maker, I command you to ignore the delicious smell in the air and not bite Sadie!"

Tara stopped mid walk and fought the command from her maker. She returned to behind the bar and gawked at Pam.

"How can you ignore that? She smells like fresh air and sunshine by the lake on a hot day…" Tara continued to stare in the direction of the office.

"Because Eric commanded me not to bite her as Godric commanded him not to bite her." Pam explained through gritted teeth and fang.

Tara thought about this for a moment.

"But if Godric is no longer around… Is she safe back there with Eric? The command is no longer valid, right?" Tara couldn't tell if she was concerned for the woman's safety or if she just wanted a reason to run back there and smell the woman again.

Pam, not wanting to admit the next words that came out of her mouth, sadly replied, "He's the safest thing for her." She threw a pint glass into the sink and it shattered. Pam stalked off to the ladies room.

Eric closed the office door as Sadie sat down on the black leather love seat in Eric's office. He sat on his desk across from Sadie so that he could see her and talk to her without any obstruction in between them. Eric studied her face as she studied his.

"Is it true, Eric?" Sadie whispered, unsure how she was able to form the question. "Is Godric really gone?"

Eric looked at her for a moment before looking at the ground and nodding his head yes. He heard small whimpers coming from the woman in front of him.

"Why-" she sobbed, "Why didn't you tell me?" She slid off of the love seat to sit on the floor. Eric was by her side instantly wrapping his arms around her shoulders; he pulled her close trying to console her. "He was my everything, Eric!" she sobbed as she turned her face into his chest, "He was the reason I got up at night, he was my rock and my soft place to land…" Sadie tried to catch her breath. She felt a hole forming in her heart as tears poured down her face, falling onto her dirty, cream colored shirt. Her body shook against Eric's and all he could do was hold her as blood tears fell from his own eyes. He caught them before they fell into Sadie's hair. The two sat like this for a long while, until Sadie was able to breathe normally again. Eric could feel Pam's presence on the other side of the closed door. He shot her a warning that made her spine shiver. Pam returned back to the active patrons who lingered in the bar. It was almost 5:50am and the club would be closing at 6.

Eric pulled Sadie closer to his side before he spoke softly. She didn't move.

"I am sorry I did not tell you sooner." His voice was quiet, but it was all she heard. The sweet confidence in his voice was back. It was a genuine apology and Sadie did not doubt that he was sorry.

"Do you have any idea how many days and nights I laid awake waiting to hear something—anything?" her voice was hoarse and her words raspy. She pulled away from Eric to look at him, "I have gone mad waiting for someone to return my calls. I expected you, above all other beings, to call me when you felt that connection break."

"Then you expected too much." he said curtly. Eric didn't like to be told what he should and should not do. It didn't take kindly to anyone who told him his own business, but he restrained himself from her. Sadie slapped Eric across the face and his fangs lowered as his body tensed. He was on his feet in seconds leaving Sadie on the floor.

"How dare you!" Tears welled up in her eyes as she stood up ready to stand her ground on this argument. "I'm not worthy of a call? A letter? A fucking e-mail?" She was shouting. There was no doubt that every vampire ear could hear the argument over the dying techno music. "Or a fucking text message? Is it because I'm Fae?" she yelled.

"Lower your voice." Eric cautioned.

"Is it because I've always been lower on the chain of command when it comes to your bloodline?" Eric could smell her blood pressure rising, it made his mouth water. He moved behind the desk to put something, anything, in between them. "Is it because I'm more human than you? Or because I'm nothing more than an annoyance and inconvenience to you? Did you not tell me because I'm only a food source to you?" Sadie was still yelling at Eric, "What the hell Eric? Are you too fucking good to let anyone else who loved Godric know what happened to him?"

Eric's breathing became rapid and it was taking all he could muster to keep his self from ripping her head off. He knew the lingering vampires Pam was trying to coral out of the club could hear the way she was speaking to him. It was without question, none of them could get away with speaking to Eric in such a way and there would need to be consequences for this behavior.

"Was I not important enough to you to pick up a damn phone and call me, Eric?" the last words she yelled were his breaking point. Eric picked up the desk and flung it into the wall; shattering it to pieces. Sadie threw her hands up to shield her face from the fractured pieces of plastic and wood that bounced off of the brick wall.

"It's because I love you too fucking much that I couldn't call you!" he shouted, topping her loudest volume. The walls to the office shook. "I couldn't imagine you taking in the news of Godric's true death, I didn't want to watch you cry uncontrollably as the pain of the situation sank in" he lowered his voice but he was still growling at her. Sadie watched as he closed the distance between them. "_I_ wasn't ready to have to be strong enough for _you_ and what it would take to pull _you_ through this." They locked eyes for a moment before Eric backed down and walked out of the office leaving Sadie alone with the shattered pieces of plastic and heated energy still lingering around her.

Pam followed her maker out of the front door of the club and Tara walked back to the office. Sadie felt Tara's energy as she approached the doorway.

"Are you okay?" she asked feeling Pam's commands control her from biting Sadie. "He can be a real dick sometimes… but he means well."

Sadie turned to Tara. She was trembling from head to toe. It had been a long time since she fought with a vampire. Her and Godric rarely fought, but when they did, it was usually a matter of a few nights before one of them came to their senses. Tara put an arm around Sadie to try and console her. There was still a part of Tara that remembered her human life and this woman reminded her of Sookie; her former best friend. Tara pulled the woman close for a hug. Not because she wanted to be close to the woman, but because it felt like the right thing to do. Losing a loved one combined with a fight with Eric was enough to make anyone just need a hug. Tara, not wanting to step on any toes, looked down at the woman's feet.

"Where are your shoes?" Tara asked not sure if she really wanted the answer. Sadie pulled back from their embrace and looked down at her own feet. It hadn't occurred to her that when she fled her house, she didn't stop to put shoes on.

"Um…" Sadie began, "I don't know..." Her words were matter soft and raspy.

"Shit, I can get ya some shoes." Tara said trying to break the tension. She left Sadie in the office to retrieve a pair of shoes for the woman. Sadie wandered out into the empty club. Lucas was behind the bar cleaning up after Pam and Tara.

"So you're the one causing all the commotion, huh?" Lucas's voice was deep and husky but lighthearted as he greeted Sadie out into the bar. She forced a smile to him. "Can I get you a coke or something?" he offered. She stood off to the side. "It's okay. He'll calm down eventually. It's the Viking in him." Lucas gestured to a seat at the bar as he set a coke down for her. Sadie moved slowly to take the seat and stared at the brown liquid in the glass. "I get that way, too." Lucas tried to keep the one sided conversation going. "It's a vampire thing I guess." Sadie, again forced a smile. Lucas plopped a straw into her drink. He tried to ignore the smell coming off of her but he found himself leaning closer and closer over the bar towards her. Smiling, fangs showing, attempting to glamour her.

"Lucas, I can't be glamoured. I also recall those fangs being threatened to be pulled from your skull if Eric finds them out." Lucas retracted his fangs instantly.

"I'm sorry." there was a small sense of shame on his face. Lucas looked at the clock above the bar. 6:30am. "Those two have less than an hour to get back here before sunrise." He could see that the conversation with Sadie was going nowhere. "If you'll excuse me, I need dinner and sitting here with you is making it difficult to focus." Sadie nodded in a way that told Lucas she understood. He left her alone sitting at the bar. Sadie took a sip from her Coke and left the bar. Tara had yet to return and Sadie felt that she needed to find a place in Shreveport to rest for the day. She retrieved the key to the jaguar from her pocket and opened the door to the club. Pam and Eric stood in the parking lot arguing. They both looked at her as she exited the building. Neither of them approached her as she began to make her way towards the car. She had to pass them to reach her goal. As she neared the duo their argument stopped.

Pam and Eric stood in the parking lot screaming at one another.

"I told you this would end badly, Eric!" She yelled. He was silent and she could feel Tara nearing the office. For a moment Pam debated on if she should leave her maker standing alone to ensure her child would not, could not, disobey her command. "And you told her you loved her?" Pam's voice was a cross between shocked and confused. "Please do not tell me this is Sookie all over again."

"It's not." Eric cut her off. "It's different than Sookie." He said, not yelling anymore. "It's completely different."

"How? Sookie was Bill's and Sadie was Godric's. The difference is that Godric is no longer with us and Bill is living the life as the King of Fucking Louisiana."

"There is a past her and I have that-" He stopped short and looked at his child, "that dates back to before you, before me…"

"How can you have a past with her if what you are feeling goes back before you were born?" Pam stood there confused and well on the cusp of pissed off.

"Now is not the time, Pamela" Eric stated.

"Not the time? She found out her eternal love, or whatever, is dead. Something you have had months to try and come to grips with. She came here, searching for you, for whatever reason—probably to find out how this all happened. You tell her you love her and now is not the time to explain some past history that the rest of us are trying to figure out?" Pam was at her wits end. "Did Godric know?"

"Know what?" Eric stared off at the light violet sky in the distance. The sun was coming—quickly.

"That you love her." Pam asked the obvious.

"Yes." He thought for a moment, "I was gifted to her. A long time ago. She chose Godric." That was all he was willing to give Pam tonight.

The door to the building flew open and Sadie walked out. She stopped as the two vampires watched her exit the club and began walking towards her car. Pam tilted her head to the side when she realized that the woman wasn't wearing any shoes. Eric watched her as she neared them.

"Where are you going?" he asked softly. A contrast in his voice from the last time she saw him.

"I don't know. A hotel or something." Sadie said trying to push past the two vampires. She really hadn't thought about where she would go, she just needed to collapse somewhere. Eric reached out and grabbed her arm. It wasn't a threatening way, just enough to stop her from leaving. "Eric please…" she whispered.

"No. You'll stay here with me." he said ending the discussion. Eric took the key from her shaking hand. He handed it to Pam. "Please move her car out of view of the street. When you are done, head home. The sun will be up soon." Pam took the key from Eric and huffed off. "Pam" he called after her, still holding Sadie's arm. Pam stopped but did not turn to acknowledge him. "You were right about this." She turned her head to look over her shoulder.

"She's handling it a lot better than I would if you were Godric… and I was her." Pam got into the car and left Eric with Sadie in the parking lot. The horizon was turning light blue with twinges of pink following.

"Come." Eric motioned to the building. Sadie didn't fight him. She was too tired. Eric put his arm around her shoulders as he had done when she first arrived. They entered the club and found Tara coming from the office with a pair of new shoes.

"Pam got these… but they are just too plain for her" Tara said setting the box on the counter.

"They are perfect. Thank you." Sadie said as she let out a yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Head home Tara." Eric said turning off the lights to the dance floor and behind the bar.

Tara was gone before Eric made his way back to Sadie. He took her by the hand and lead her down to the dungeon that was under the club. Sadie felt exhaustion begin to fill her body. She leaned into Eric as they reached the bottom of the stairs. He leaned down, took his left arm and placed it at the back of her knees picking her up in the classic "wedding hold". Sadie nuzzled her head into Eric's suit jacket as he crossed the damp and dingy room. Eric leaned back taking on the weight of Sadie so he could use the hand that supported her back to open the door.

The room was small and quaint for being an extension of the dungeon. There was a California king and a dresser. That was the extent of the room. Eric placed Sadie on the bed. He closed and locked the several bolts on the door, then he set the alarm for the club from inside the room. He could feel his body getting ready to die for the day. The clock in the room indicated it was around 7am. Eric removed Sadie's shirt and tossed it into the corner of the room. He removed her bra and tossed it on top of the shirt. He saw the goosebumps raise on her skin as the cold comforter on the bed made contact with her body. She let out a moan of discomfort but she did not wake up. She was beautiful and he understood why Godric was so attracted to her. Eric felt the pull of the sun on his body. He undid the button on her jeans and pulled them off of her body. Two folded envelopes fell out of her pocket. Eric reached down and picked them up; he knew the writing on the front was Godric's. He looked at the woman who laid in the bed and then back at the letters. He tossed them on the dresser and made a note to discuss them when he rose for the night. Eric wanted to leave Sadie nude as she laid beside him for the night but there was a part of him that knew it wasn't appropriate. He pulled a black t-shirt form the dresser and gracefully put it on Sadie without her waking up. He quickly plugged in and clicked on a small space heater for the woman before putting her under the covers. Eric felt a drop of blood fall from his nose. He needed to lay down. Quickly, he pulled his tie, shirt, and suit coat off and tossed them on the bedside table. Eric tossed his shoes and socks in the corner with Sadie's clothes and crawled under the covers. He did not touch her while she slept although the urge kept him from closing his eyes and dying right away. He pushed those thoughts away quickly before Eric drifted off to die for the day thinking of Sadie.


	4. Chapter 4

Sadie awoke around four in the afternoon from a hungry stomach. It would be a little over three hours before Eric would rise for the night. He looked sad as he slept. Sadie remembered all of the times she had watched Godric sleep during the day. The memory of Godric's peacefulness lingered in Sadie's mind. Sadie remembered all the times she ran a finger down Godric's cool arm, wondering if he could feel her warmth. Godric would swear up and down he couldn't feel her, but the small smirk on his face always gave him away. Other days, when Godric didn't want to leave Sadie for the day but could not escape the pull of the sun, he looked sad, yet peaceful. Even on his bad days, Godric never looked as sad as Eric did at this moment.

Sadie knew this level of sadness. In her entire life, she had only seen one person so deeply saddened. It was the look on her father's face. Sadie tried to remember what it was like to leave her father on the fairy plain for the earth plain. She vaguely remembered those first few nights so long ago on earth. Sadie wandered until she found a tribe of her people, who had also left the fairy plain to carry out their lives on earth. Sadie pulled herself from her thoughts as she climbed over Eric to retrieve her jeans.

She noticed the letters sitting on the dresser. Sadie grabbed them and shoved them back into her pocket. Digging through the drawers, she finally found a black zip up sweatshirt she put on over the black t-shirt. She could feel a headache starting behind her eyes. The stress of the past few months, last night in particular, was finally hitting home with her. Sadie walked over to the door and spent a few minutes trying to unlock all of the old deadbolts that held the door closed. When she finally managed to get the door open, Sadie's heart dropped as she saw the damp dungeon she needed to cross to get to the stairs. She was already cold and the idea of getting her feet wet just after waking up not an appealing idea. Swiftly, she rolled her pants up to her knees to avoid getting them wet and crossed the wet floor to the stairs. She followed the stairs until she reached the top and wiped her feed across the industrial mat on the floor.

Sadie walked past the office where the broken desk and its contents were still sprawled out on the floor. The negative energy from the previous night still lingered in the room and it made her headache intensify. Sadie could feel a presence in the club. She closed her eyes and listened for thoughts. It had been a while since she had been around humans long enough to need her ability. The thoughts were singing, horribly off key, but they were singing. Sadie rounded the corner to find a skinny blonde girl wiping down tables and booths. She turned and saw Sadie. She began screaming intensely.

"No… no, no, no…" Sadie said calmly, "It's okay, I'm okay…" She brought her hands up in tried to hush the girl. The could shriek like no one Sadie had ever heard. "What's your name?" Sadie tried a different approach with the screaming woman.

The woman looked at her and Sadie tried to listen for new thoughts. There weren't many she could find. Voids of memory filled certain areas of her mind and simple memories of a small house and Fangtasia filled the rest. Finally she stopped screaming.

"What is your name?" Sadie asked again, "I'm Sadie… I'm a friend of Eric's" she tried to smile; an attempt to show the girl she was friendly.

_Friend? Eric doesn't have friends. This must have been what he picked up last night. He sure is letting his standards down on what he takes to bed; and to think, he and I could have been fuckin'. _

Sadie tried to stay out of her mind but the thoughts she was thinking weren't exactly quiet, when in fact, she did not have many thoughts roaming around up there at all.

"Ginger." she said not letting her guard down. "I clean up during the day… take care of deliveries…" she offered more information that Sadie thought she would. "I'm pretty much the day shift 'round here."

"Oh… Good." Sadie nodded her head trying not to get the woman to scream again. She wasn't sure she could take the shrieking that came out of her mouth. Her headache was already intensified by the first round of startled screams, "Do you know if my car key was left anywhere?"

"Is it the one with the Dallas Cowboys keychain?" Ginger asked; her southern accent was becoming more prominent to Sadie's ear the more she spoke to the blonde.

"Yes. That's the one!" Sadie smiled.

"It's on the bar… next to the box of shoes." Ginger said before going back to cleaning off the tables.

Sadie walked over and put the shoes on, without socks, and took the key. She quietly exited out of the front of the building walking around back to where Pam might have left her car. She clicked the unlock button and popped the trunk. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she knew Godric wouldn't have left the car empty. He didn't require much, but he had become accustomed to the daily "human" needs Sadie had to take care of. There was a grey duffle in the trunk. She unzipped it and found clothes, still with tags on them, along with toiletries. There was a phone charger, probably for the phone that was now melted to what used to be her living room floor. She looked at the other bags in the trunk. They held extra make up, tampons, toothpaste, deodorant, a book of addresses she may need should she need a safe place to stay. There was also a case of bottled water in the trunk. Sadie busted through the plastic and opened a bottle. She drank the entire bottle without it ever leaving her mouth. She opened a second and drank half of it the same way. There were granola bars, bags of chips, and other sorted snack foods in the other bags. Sadie ripped open a box of granola bars and sat on the bumper of the car while she inhaled all six that were in the box. When she was done she moved on to another box and finished its contents, too.

Sadie sat there for a few moments longer taking in the sun, and the humidity. She felt a trickle of sweat run down her neck and she remembered her reasoning for coming outside; to track down some clothes so she could get cleaned up. Sadie grabbed the grey duffle bag, closed the trunk, and headed back to the building. She stopped just short of the door as she heard two voices in her head that made her stop dead in her tracks.

_Isabel will be happy to know we found the fairy! _

Sadie pretended to busy herself with a belt she was not wearing so she could stand and listen to the rest of the thoughts. When nothing else came to her, she continued walking into the building. It was almost five now. There was no way Isabel would be up before Eric.

"Ginger." Sadie said as she came back into the building; locking the door behind her.

"Ya?" Ginger replied smacking her gum. Sadie tried to ignore the nasty habit.

"Do you keep protection here at the club?"

"Oh ya… you never know who is going to walk through that door." Ginger smiled.

"Thank god." Sadie said feeling relieved. "Where is it?"

"Behind the counter." Ginger said going back to her booths.

Sadie went behind the counter looking for something that stood out but found nothing. "Ginger, where?" Sadie looked asking confused.

"In the fishbowl, silly!" Ginger beamed at her.

Sadie pulled a fishbowl out from under the bar. She pulled it up so that Ginger could see it.

"Ya, that's it!" Ginger beamed like a happy puppy. Sadie stared at the fishbowl in disbelief. It was filled with condoms. "But you don't need to worry about needing anything in there! Master Eric can't get you pregnant! He's dead!" She gave a big toothy grin and turned around to spray down another table.

"No… Ginger…" Sadie said, her voice laced with frustration. "A gun, a baseball bat…something that could hurt someone if they entered the bar unwelcomed."

"Ya, we have Master Eric!" Ginger said completely unaware of the fact that he slept during the day. Sadie tried a different approach.

"How do you protect yourself while Master Eric is dead for the day?"

"Oh!" Ginger pulled a semiautomatic 9mm. pistol from her hip, "With this!" she pointed it at Sadie.

"Oh, Oh, Ginger put that down! Lower that down, please!" Sadie tried to coax the over glamoured blond into putting the gun back on her hip. Ginger shrugged and went back to cleaning. "Thank you!" Sadie shouted to her as she headed back to the office. There was a small bathroom behind the pile of desk pieces that lay on the floor. Sadie walked in and made sure the water worked before disrobing. While the water was heating up, she dug through her bag for the necessities to clean up. She found what she needed along with a large towel. She caught Godric's smell in the towel. It was something she missed dearly and she knew using the towel would make the smell disappear. Sadie closed her eyes and held the towel to her face.

Inhaling deeply her thoughts trailed off to the first night she spent with Godric in their Dallas home. _The fireplace held a roaring fire as they lay together on the floor tangled up in one another. A rug beneath them made of a black bear skin was soft against Sadie's bare back. _She could still feel_ Godric pressed against her, freshly risen for the night, he kissed every inch of her as she ran her fingers through his hair. Sadie could feel his hardness pressing against her and she could feel his need for her in his kiss. Sadie moaned into his mouth and he smiled knowing that after hundreds of years, it was still only him that could trigger such a response in her. Godric's fangs came out but he would not bite her; he grazed his fangs against her neck and she pressed her hips into his. He slipped his hand in between her thighs and ran the back of his hand against her hot skin until he found her hot core. She was wet for him and this made him happy; knowing she had gone all day waiting for him, saving her own need for him. Godric continued to kiss her neck; he loved the smell of her. He loved that she was unlike all others he had fed on. Godric pinned Sadie's arms above her head and used his knee to part her legs. In all the years they had been together, he had never gotten tired of the little whimpers and moans she made as he touched her. Sadie felt Godric as he entered her slowly. She wrapped her legs around Godric trying to make the connection closer. They could both feel the warmth of the fire heat their skin. Godric growled a soft growl in Sadie's ear as he began to pick up rhythm. She closed her eyes let herself be lost in Godric. _

As Sadie pulled herself from the thought, she found her own hand rubbing against her swollen desire for Godric. She missed him dearly. Sadie pulled her hand away without finishing and tossed the towel on the sink before stepping into the hot shower. The water felt good on her skin. She closed her eyes and let the water from the shower head beat into her shoulders, trying to release the stress of the outside world. She soaped up her loofa and ran it across her body, finishing up with washing her face and hair. Sadie turned the shower off and stepped out to wrap up in the Godric-scented towel. The small bathroom was too steamy to get dressed comfortably. Sadie grabbed her belongings and headed back to the small room in the dungeon. She put her shoes on to run across the damp floor and quickly kicked them off when she got to the room. Eric was still dead, but he wouldn't be for long. He was sure to be up as the clock was almost reading 7pm. She tossed her duffle on the bed and Eric's eyes popped open, eyeballing her in the towel.

He smiled a wide, sinister smile as she stood there not sure what to do now that he was awake.

"I thought you couldn't rise yet." She said softly brushing out her long, wet hair.

"I can't go outside until it is fully dark, but as the sun sets, I can rise and stay indoors" This was something she knew, she just wasn't used to having Eric around as it was happening. He was still smiling at her catching the smell of her prior arousal in between her legs. It didn't matter that it wasn't for him, he enjoyed the smell as it mixed with the natural smell of her blood.

"So, you're not mad at me and tossing objects around the room tonight?" Sadie was using the lotion from her bag to moisturize her legs. She had one leg balanced on the bed causing the towel to fall back, exposing most of her leg, but hiding the rest of her from Eric as she rubbed the cream in.

"Oh, I'm still plenty pissed off at the way you spoke to me and accused me of only thinking of myself." He waited until she had looked up to meet his gaze.

"But?" she prompted.

"But, I'm rather enjoying the show of watching you in a towel, appreciating that you are stuck down here with me until full dark." He was smug about it and when Sadie walked around the bed to leave, he moved to block the door. Throwing his arms up to grab the trim and puffing out his chest, Sadie stopped just short of making body contact with Eric. He smiled down at her but did not drop fang.

"I'm Godric's…" she said looking down at her hands; her wet hair falling into her face. Sadie knew she was attracted to Eric. It was part of the vampire lure he had over her, but there was more to it than that. She didn't want to look up at Eric, fearful that she might do something regretful and disloyal to Godric.

"…and what was once Godric's…" Eric said in a low silky voice as he used his left index finger to bring her chin up so she met his blue eyes, "… is now mine…" he could feel her pulse quicken when he said this and leaned in to her for a kiss. Sadie didn't pull away as his tongue invaded her mouth and his arms wrapped around to pull her close. Her body went stiff in his arms and when the kiss broke she was breathless. She could feel where Eric nicked her tongue with his fangs. Eric smiled as he tasted her blood in his mouth. The smell was nothing compared to the taste.

"I feel like I'm betraying Godric…" she spoke into Eric's chest, small tears formed in her eyes. The words came out softly but Eric did not have to strain to hear them.

Eric ran his fingers through her hair until he came to the base of her neck. He pulled lightly on Sadie's hair until she was forced to look at him. The smallest amount of her blood let Eric know how she was feeling. Scared. Hurt. Worried. Sad. These emotions mixed together coursed through Eric as they coursed through Sadie.

"But you're not betraying him." Eric held her gaze for a moment before shaking his head 'no'. "You're really not…"

"How did it happen?" Sadie meekly asked as Eric tried to convince her that loving him would not be betraying Godric. "How did Godric meet his true death?"

Eric hesitated and closed his eyes. When he opened them he looked down into Sadie's, they were pleading and begging him for answers. He hugged her and she missed the cold feel of bare chest against her skin. Her nose was filled with the smell of Eric instead of Godric and it felt wrong and right at the same time. When Eric pulled away he kissed her forehead.

"Get dressed. Meet me upstairs." he said turning away from her. There was a growl that emanated from Sadie that stopped Eric in his tracks. He turned slightly to see Sadie grab the towel and hold it closer to her body. "Did you just growl at me?" Eric asked playfully.

"No… not exactly." she answered him as the growl came again.

"When was the last time you ate?" Eric asked concerned.

"I had a box of granola bars this afternoon." Sadie looked from Eric down to her hands to avoid eye contact.

"A real meal?" He prompted.

"I don't know… four or five days…" Sadie said trying to recall the last meal she had that didn't involve checking an expiration date.

"Don't let this become a habit." Eric said before heading across the dungeon to the upstairs.

Sadie reached the top of the stairs to find Eric assembling a new desk in the office. She watched him work at vampire speed and when it was completed she tossed her duffle on the floor.

"This is my new favorite room…" Eric said setting up the new Mac on his desk.

"Because of the new desk?" Sadie asked confused.

Eric could smell the last traces of Sadie's arousal seeping out of the bathroom. He smiled to himself not letting her know how much he could smell it coming out of the bathroom.

"No. Not because of the new desk." He answered smugly. Eric had yet to put a new shirt on and he still had that sexy 'just woke up hair' going on. She was fond of his shorter hair over the long, but in some ways, she missed the long hair. She watched as Eric moved about the office. Sadie could still feel the coolness of his chest against her cheek. She watched his pants as they hung off his hips, the top button still undone from his day slumber. Her stomach growled pulling her from her observations of Eric. "Go. Ginger has ordered you food." Eric made a motion with his hand in the directions of the door.

Sadie stood, letting her black halter top loosen around her waist. Eric looked at her as she stood. The neckline plunged low and it was nearly backless. She wasn't wearing a bra he noticed. Her dark blue jeans hugged all of her curves and the black heeled boots she wore gave her a good three inches in height. He noticed her hair for the first time, it was wavy and came down almost to her lower back, but it wasn't how he remembered. Something was still missing from Sadie. Her radiance was gone. Eric wondered if it was because she had no new vampire blood coursing through her system or if it was a fae thing.

Eric pulled the envelope back out that he was going over last night. He considered Sadie's question of asking how Godric met his true death. Eric could only think of one way to accurately give Sadie the answers she deserved, but they wouldn't come from him. He sat down in his leather chair and pulled out his phone. Eric stared at the device before scrolling through the names. One was highlighted and he thought long and hard before he hit the dial button. It rang until the voicemail picked up. Eric paused for a moment before leaving his message.

"It's Eric. I need your help. Call me back. _Please_." He disconnected the call and felt the presence of an annoyed being in the doorway.

"You called _Sookie_?" Pam questioned her maker with disgust.

"She is the one person who can give Sadie the answers she needs." Eric said softly as the stared at this progeny.

"What makes Sadie worth the risk of you seeing Sookie again? We are past this; we are past Sookie and her bullshit!" Pam walked into the office to bring the conversation between just her and Eric. "So help me, Eric, if she hurts you, I will kill her myself."

"I no longer have an interest in Sookie, Pam." Eric spoke the words out loud but he wasn't sure how much he believed them.

"I'm not talking about Sookie." Pam snarled at Eric. "I'm talking about Sadie, Eric, I will not watch you grieve over another fairy who messes with your…" Pam couldn't think of the right word, "your… whatever you have in there that makes your engine rev."

"Feelings?" Eric corrected. Pam raised her eyebrow at him. "Pam, this is different. There will be no killing anyone." Eric took a deep breath as he extended his arm to Pam. Pam walked slowly to Eric and wrapped her arms around him. "I know you have my best interest in mind… but I promise this won't be like Sookie." Eric kissed the top of Pam's head before she pulled away. She gave him one last look before leaving the office and heading out the bar for the evening.


	5. Chapter 5

Sookie felt her phone vibrate in her black apron as she took her first order of the night. Her heart raced as she figured it was Alcide calling to let her know he arrived home safely. She was beyond happy when he had decided to move into her Gran's house. It felt like home again with him there. The house had a warmth with him in it. Sookie hadn't felt that warmth since Gran was alive. She enjoyed the 'normal' that her life had become. Even Sookie's brother, Jason, said the house seemed to be alive again and there was a lack in the drama they faced on a daily basis; unless Jason's girlfriend Leah was calling. Then, Sookie knew there would be all sorts of drama to be discussed.

As Sookie looked at the name on the phone, her happiness took a dissipated. It was Eric Northman: the absolute bane of her existence. She sent the call to voicemail and put her ticket on the spinner for the kitchen. The atmosphere in kitchen hadn't been the same since Terry died and the whole essence of the restaurant changed when the name was changed from Merlotte's to Bellefleur's. It still attracted the same group of people as when it was Merlotte's, but it was just different somehow. Like an old chapter was closing and a new chapter was beginning. Sookie let her mind wander for a moment, maybe this was the chapter where she didn't get sucked into vampire business, she wasn't lied to, her heart wasn't split into pieces as she constantly gained new information that would leave her feeling like the only answer was to move away and change her name. Maybe she didn't need to call Eric back. Sookie knew she owed Eric nothing, but if he was calling, it could be about her safety. She never could really tell when it came to Eric.

"Wha' got that pretty face turned uh-side down, Sook?" Lafayette asked as he took another shot of something tan and flipped a couple of burgers.

"Eric just called me." she said unsure of how to feel about having the former lover call her out of the blue.

"No." Lafayette stated, "No. We ain't goin' there again, Sook. Northman free is the way to be and that is how I is livin' my life from now on." He had his hand on his hip and pointed the burger flipper at Sookie, "I is serious hooka. We ain't plyin' those head games no mo."

Sookie smiled at her friend but there was a small part of her that did miss Eric. She couldn't decipher if it was because of his lingering blood that would always keep them somewhat connected or if it was the thought of when he lost his mind to the witches and he spent those nights making love to her before he regained his memory. The thought sent a hot flash though Sookie's body as she remembered how he handled her body, how everything just seemed to fit together so perfectly.

"Unless he got somethin' to tell us about my busted up, vamper cousin" Lafayette pulled her from her daydream, "… we don't need to talk to him" Lafayette cranked up the radio and a saxophone solo played through the kitchen, "Yes! You feelin' that, Sook?" He began to dance around the kitchen, "That's the shit ri' thur'! Mmm, yes!" Sookie flashed him a smile and then turned to fill a drink order.

The hours seemed to pass drama free until a familiar face walked into Bellefleur's. Sookie could feel him looking at her without turning around. It was the same feeling she got whenever he was close; it was a feeling Sookie would anticipate as the sun went down each night, a feeling that was more like a high she never wanted to end. Now, the feeling brought only dread and anguish. His presence made Sookie uneasy and she should have known that with Eric calling her, this feeling would not be too far behind.

"Oh, hells no!" Lafayette sighed as he saw Bill Compton enter the small restaurant. "I'ma need more liquor for this shit. I'ma need me a smoke break…"

Sookie turned from the bar where she set the drink order down, worried she might spill it. She met Bill's gaze as he walked over to her.

"Sookie." he smiled as he took the seat next to her.

"King Bill." she said dully not looking at him.

"I understand that Eric called you this evening." he was straight to the point.

"So what if he did. I don't understand how that is any business of yours." she glared at him.

Bill smiled as he adjusted his black tie.

"The supernatural beings and their activities in my kingdom is my business. You being a supernatural being-"

"Fae." she corrected him. "And technically, my business is not your business since I am not a vampire. You are king of vampires. My boyfriend is not a vampire and we do not get involved with vampire business anymore."

"If that is true why is Eric calling you?"

Sookie was infuriated.

"Fuck off, Bill!" she screamed and walked out of the small restaurant abandoning her shift, orders, and co-workers. Bill shot Lafayette a look before following after her. Lafayette pointed his spatula at Bill, then pointed it to his eyes before pointing it back to Bill, he lipped the words, 'I'm watching you."

Sookie was already in her car backing out of her spot when she spotted Bill in her review mirror. If she knew for certain she could kill him, she might just try to run him over. However, Alcide just got done replacing the radiator and Sookie didn't want him to have to fix anything else on her car because she tried to use Bill Compton as a speed bump. She put the car in park and waited for Bill to reach her window. He motioned for her to roll down the glass that separated them and she did.

"When you find out what he is hiding over there at his little club, I expect to be informed." he said with a smile.

"I don't work for you." Sookie said standing her ground. "I don't want anything to do with you, Bill. I don't owe you anything and after all the lies and deceit you put me through, I certainly don't need to associate myself with you anymore." She knew the lady Gran had raised her to be was not showing at this particular moment. She was downright angry and was having trouble being lady-like about the situation.

"It would be a shame if Alcide went to start his truck in the morning for work and those spark plugs sparked more than just the engine." Bills voice was cold. "I expect a call. Tonight." Bill was gone before Sookie could protest.

She sped off towards home.

"Fucking vampires!" Sookie shouted as she left the parking lot; her car sending gravel flying everywhere.

"What do we do about the smell?" Pam asked Eric, ignoring Sadie who was sitting on the love seat in Eric's office. "Her staying here last night really… intensified the odor." Pam was getting irritated with the number of unruly vampires stirring about in the club trying to locate the delicious smell. "It's only a matter of time before they outnumber us and-"

"I know." Eric said cutting Pam off. He was leaning against his desk contemplating how to get Sadie out of the club without causing a ruckus. "They are in the back alley, too?" Eric asked Pam. She nodded. Eric stared at Sadie as he thought for a moment. "Clear out the back alley of vampires. Leave her car." Eric instructed. "I'll take her to my home and hope the smell can dissipate over the next 48 hours or so." Eric extended his arm to Sadie to help her up.

"We are leaving now?" Sadie asked, a worried sense of danger coursing through her body. The tiny bit of Sadie's blood Eric tasted earlier this evening allowed him to also sense this small twinge of worry that resided in Sadie.

"Why does this worry you?" He asked, concern straining his voice. Sadie hesitated as she remembered Isabel's day-men sitting across from Fantasia earlier this afternoon. Eric could not just sense her elevated worry, but he could smell the adrenalin beginning to enter the blood and he heard her heart begin to pump the blood faster through her veins. "If there is a reason why we shouldn't leave here, you need to tell us now." Sadie's eyes flashed from Eric to Pam then to the floor. She stalled and pulled her hand out of Eric's. Eric could smell the fear coming off of her.

"Sadie!" Pam barked at the woman, "What are you not telling us?"

"Isabel…" Sadie's voice shook as she continued to stare at the ground, "She has men looking for me." Sadie's voice was barely above a whisper. Eric reached out and took her by the chin forcing the fairy to look at him. He was not harsh with her and Sadie did not fight the gesture. She kept her eyes down even though her face was tilted so the Viking could look at her.

"Look at me." He said in a commanding yet soft voice. Sadie's hazel eyes slowly looked up to meet his dark, icy blue ones. "Why is she sending men to retrieve you?"

"There was an incident, long ago, at the nest in Dallas where Godric would conduct vampire business." She paused, "I went with him one night, it was supposed to be a quick meeting; less than an hour" Sadie's voice continued to shake, "and as we entered the nest, Isabel could not contain herself…" Sadie tried to look away from Eric knowing that she was a weakness for Gordric and now, she was a weakness for Eric. Using the knuckle of his index finger, Eric blocked Sadie's face from turning away from him. He held her gaze. Sadie whimpered as she tried to continue the less than ideal memory for the two vampires before her. "It took several vampires to pull Isabel off of me before they smelled what she did. Godric knew at that moment that he was wrong to have brought me to the nest. He ended up killing two of Isabel's progenies and a sheriff before the rest of the nest would back down." She paused, "he was so upset with Isabel for her behavior but more upset with himself. Godric pushed me out of the front door before addressing Isabel. They spoke momentarily before Godric exited the house and I never saw Isabel until yesterday."

"Did she bite you?" Eric asked lowering his hand from her chin.

"No. Godric was faster than Isabel." Sadie tried to shake the memory from her mind.

"What did she want when you saw her yesterday?"

"She arrived sometime after the lawyer left… She said she wanted to talk about what happened with Godric, but I couldn't trust her…" Sadie's voice was picking up pace and tone. "All I could remember was her trying to kill me, so I never answered the door. I ran upstairs to pack a bag; I was going to try to wait her out and then," Sadie swallowed hard and ran her hands though her hair, "her human staff busted the door down and began searching the house for me. I was leaving that house last night one way or another." Sadie wrapped her arms around her chest as if she was giving herself a hug. "I should have listened to Godric's note… I should have left right when the Lawyer left…"

"What letter?" Eric asked trying to put all of the extra pieces of this misshapen puzzle together. Sadie reached into her pocket and handed her note to Eric. It was the one that fell from her pants last night. Sadie also handed the one for Nora to Eric.

"Was there anything in the house that would have sent them here looking for you?" Pam asked taking a place next to Eric to examine the letter.

"Just my phone…" Sadie shook her head, "you called as they were searching the house and it was sitting in the living room."

"We need that phone." Eric said not looking up from the letter, "If there are any other contacts in there Isabel can use against you, she will."

"She can't get those contacts." Sadie said confidently.

"Why's that?" Pam chimed in.

"Because the phone is melted to what used to be my living room…" Both of the vampires looked up from the letter, "they burnt our house to the ground. Isabel had them burn it to flush me out."

"Lets hope they didn't grab the phone before setting it ablaze." Pam said as she stepped back from Eric.

"When I went outside earlier to retrieve some items from my car… I heard them. Sitting in a vehicle across from the club, waiting for dark… waiting to call Isabel. One of them saw me leave my car and enter through the front door. They know I'm here." Sadie couldn't look at either vampire.

Eric continued to study the letter.

"Did you notice anything weird about this letter?" Eric held up the letter. Sadie shook her head no.

"The lawyer gave it to me last night."

"There is a message under the one he wrote to you." Eric continued to examine it, "Only you can't see it." Eric's vampire eyes still couldn't make out the words. He held it up to the light; more scribbles. "Sadie, can you generate your light?"

She held up her hand, a soft bluish-purple light illuminated around her fingers. Sadie pushed more energy into her hand causing the light energy to turn in to a ball in the palm of her hand. Eric held the letter up to the light pulsing off of Sadie's hand and the squiggles, still hard to see with vampire eyes, began to make sense. Eric read the letter at vampire speed.

_Eric, _

_In the event of my true death, Isabel will come calling for Sadie. I did not give my word to Isabel, but rather, formed an agreement that upon my true death, Sadie would be gifted to her so long as Isabel did not intend to harm her for the duration of our existence or harm her after mine. She will be rather vengeful when she finds that Sadie has been left to you in my will. It was the only way I could keep Sadie safe. Please forgive me for leaving you with this burden, my child. _

_Godric_

"He used her as a bargaining chip!" Pam said in disbelief. Godric, he who could do no wrong in Eric's eyes, had used Sadie as a bargaining chip for peace and lied to his closest business partner, defiling his word and the strength it held in verbal arrangements. As the words came out of Pam's mouth Sadie's light faded and she lowered her hand to her side. She felt ashamed for being Fae and for the first time in her long existence, she questioned Godric's love and motives when it came to her.

"Don't say it like that, Pamela." Eric cautioned. "If he meant to use Sadie as a bargaining chip, he would have arranged it that way upon his" Eric paused before the next two words could leave his mouth, "true death." Eric's phone vibrated in his pocket. Before the second set of vibrations could shake the device, Eric answered the call.

"Sookie?" he asked turning away from Sadie and Pam and taking a seat at his desk. Pam rolled her eyes and left the office.

"What do you want Eric?" She asked into the phone. Eric could hear the stress and tiredness in her voice. He could also here Alcide breathing heavily, angered, on the other end. Alcide's pacing around Sookie caused the floor boards of her Gran's house to squeak. It reminded Eric that when she called, she was sharing the privacy of her house with someone who was not him.

"I need a favor." he said quickly.

"No." Sookie didn't miss a beat in her protest.

"You didn't even hear me out." He smirked into the phone knowing that if the favor wasn't for him, she may consider showing up and he could see her. Eric could feel Sookie contemplating reconsidering.

"Okay." She began, "You have 30 seconds to explain what you want."

"I need your ability." He stated.

"For?"

"A friend."

"Vampire?"

"Sort of."

"No." she protested again.

"She's like you, Sookie." Eric said feeling defeated. "She's not a vampire, but she needs to know what happened to one." the news of another Fae caught Sookie by surprise and she listened carefully to Eric's words. "She needs to know what happened to Godric."

"You know what happened to Godric." Sookie said cautiously, knowing the sensitivity of Godric with Eric.

"But I know because of what you told me. This is not something I can simply explain to Godric's lover. She will never understand if she cannot see it for herself." Eric was quiet while he let Sookie think about her decision. Of all the drama that came with loving Bill, Alcide, and even Eric at one point, she would be torn apart if she knew they had met the true death and she was never able to know how; or why.

"Okay." She said softly. "But I'm only doing this once."

"That is agreeable." Eric said, a smile forming.

"And Alcide comes with me." Eric's heart sank into the pit that used to be his stomach. He tried to hide the hurt in his voice.

"I'll text you the details before sunrise."

"Eric?" Sookie said his name not sure how to broach the topic. "There is something I need to tell you." She paused and tried to find the right words to put into the right sentences. "Bill visited me tonight." Eric stood up straight making him appear even taller to Sadie who continued to watch his back as he spoke into the phone. "He knew you called me… and he wanted to know why." Eric slowly turned to look at Sadie as the words as Sookie spoke into the phone.

"Tell him nothing." Eric snarled into the phone.

"That's the problem." Sookie breathed heavily, "If I don't call Bill back telling him why you are contacting me, he threatened to hurt Alcide. I can't get mixed up in this again, Eric." She was quiet for a moment. "I'm happy." she said quietly, "and I don't want that to go away."

Those last few words rang loud in Eric's ear. She did sound happy, he could not deny that. The last thing Eric wanted was to take that away from her. He had known Alcide for years and Eric knew that the werewolf could be good for Sookie. A form of normal for her to hold on to in this fucked up world of cold, dark, death, and blood; that wasn't Sookie. Everything about her was warm, light, alive, and a breath of fresh air. Alcide complimented that, he provided a form of protection that would never leave Sookie waiting for the sun to set, or rise. At this realization, Eric's gaze on Sadie deepened; what Alcide did for Sookie he felt he could do for Sadie. He wondered how Godric had managed to keep her safe, but most of all, happy. Eric felt a shift in his emotions as he could feel Sadie's curious nature anticipating him hanging up the phone. He felt a twinge of sadness in Sadie pull at him as she noticed that he loved the woman on the phone, whoever she was.

Sadie felt embarrassed as she knew Eric could feel the sadness that began to wash over her. While her mind told her heart that it was ridiculous to have feelings for Eric, her heart had a hole in it that needed to be filled. Originally, it was Godric who filled the hole he created in her heart over a millennia ago. He spent his eternity making it up to her; making Eric for her, but she could never love them both at the same time. Not when she had spent night after night shutting the image of Godric covered in blood, in her people's blood, out of her mind. She wasn't sure if it was pity or love that stopped him that night, but he had mercy on Sadie. In the moment Godric saw Sadie, fire burning behind her, alone, with death at her feet and death staring at her, he realized she was alone now. He had orphaned her; he couldn't abandon her the way his maker had abandoned him.

"Tell Bill that you called." Eric said keeping his eyes fixed on Sadie, pulling her from her reverie. "I need your gift to interrogate my human staff at Fangtasia. I have come across more money being taken out of my accounts. This is a task you have done for me in the past, he should understand. If he asks, you will be compensated."

"And if he doesn't ask?" Sookie asked quickly. Alcide made more than enough money with his construction company to support Sookie and himself. Sookie didn't really need to wait tables anymore, but it got her out of the house a few days and nights a week.

"You will still be compensated for your time."

The two paused feeling the end of the conversation.

"Thank you."

"I'll text you the details." Eric said before hanging up. He looked at Sadie.

"Was that your friend who can help explain how Godric met his true death?" Sadie asked hopeful. Eric nodded but stayed silent. Sookie's words still lingered in his head. _I'm happy and I don't want that to go away._ "You love her." Sadie said pulling Eric back to the office.

"No. I do not." Eric corrected Sadie as he exited the office. When he returned, Eric picked up Sadie's belongings and grabbed her by the arm pulling her out of the office.

"Savage, much?" She said surprised by his change in mood. He was pulling her towards the exit that would put them behind Fantasia. "Eric, you're hurting me…" Sadie tried to pull away from Eric but it was no use. "Eric!" she shouted. He stopped and turned to her pulling her in close. She could feel his cold breath on her face and his blue eyes piercing through her. "What happened?" she whispered.

"Isabel is outside." his words were laced with worry and anger. Eric yanked her by the arm until they were outside. The moon was big and bright lighting the alley. On any other night, Sadie would have been sitting in a tree enjoying the stars as they sparkled against the big black sky. Tonight, however, she was running for her life. Sadie couldn't see her car from the alley but knew it was safe where ever Pam had moved it to. Eric opened the passenger door to his cherry red corvette and almost tossed her in the seat. He piled her bags at her feet on the floor and then claimed his seat behind the wheel.

"Where are we going?" Sadie asked holding on to the seat and dashboard, facing Eric.

"Away from here." He said, teeth gritted, fangs out, as he backed up, out of the alley way and on to the main road. Cars honked and swerved away from the corvette. The sound of tires squealing against the asphalt was the only thing that could be heard for several yards. Sadie was in awe that no one crashed.

"I could die!" Sadie screamed as Eric accelerated away from the lousy human drivers. She secured her seatbelt as they began down the road wishing that she had already had it on and hoping that she wouldn't need it again.

"You could die in there, too." Eric stated coldly passing a billboard for Fangtasia. The bright red cursive words were painted to look like red neon buzzing against the darkness of the night sky. "Would you rather I take you back to the club?" he asked trying to retract his fangs, it was difficult for him to carry out the small task.

"Would you rather I go back?" Sadie said turning in her seat to look out her window. She rubbed her arm where Eric had held her so tightly. They both sat in silence. Sadie, feeling like she was causing too much aggravation for the sheriff of area five, clicked on the radio and tried to find a station where she recognized the music. Eric sat there feeling like he was failing at protecting her, losing her like he lost Sookie; losing her like he had lost her to Godric. Sadie stopped on a local station. The sound of _Train_ filled the car. …_Smokes a pack a day, wait that's me, but anyway… _the guitar began to pick up and ease the growing tension in the car. _Meet Virginia… _the man's voice filled the car.

Sadie tossed her hair up high on her head, missing a few strands that fell into her face. Leaning her head back in the seat Sadie closed her eyes and tried to breathe while she focused on the music. _She thinks about her scene, pulls her hair back as she screams, "I don't really wanna be the queen"_ Sadie tried to push down all of the frustration, shame, sadness, fear, and love that was pulling her in their own directions. Eric could feel it, too. He was better at shoving his emotions to the side and being stone cold. He was a survivor and having emotions got in the way. It's how he taught Pam to survive and she was his biggest accomplishment. In this moment, Eric was grateful Sadie couldn't feel his emotions. She would know he was worried about her, that he still had lingering love for Sookie, and that he wished Sadie had chosen him when Godric made him for her. The man's voice continued to fill the car, _she is again on the phone, just like me, hates to be alone_. Eric peeked over Sadie who still had her eyes closed. Her arms were folded limply across her stomach. Each of the passing street lamps that passed lit up the car so Eric could better see her face. She was just as beautiful as she was when he first met her. Eric knew better than to ask her exactly how old she was; she made him look like an infant. Eric turned his eyes back to the road. He tried to relax as he contemplated different places to take Sadie. _Her confidence is tragic, but her intuition magic… _

Eric now knew this was the second time that Sadie had barely escaped Isabel. This whole King Bill situation, what he knew of it, wasn't going to help matters either. The thoughts of all the different interested parties in Sookie flooded Eric's mind. She wasn't a full Fae like Sadie and wars were almost started over her. Every option Eric could think of ended with the same thought. He wasn't as old or as strong as Godric. Vampires didn't cross Godric, the Magistrate didn't question Godric. In fact, there were several times the Magistrate called Godric for counsel on rulings with younger vampires.

Humming came from the seat next to Eric. Sadie was humming along to the song as the course picked up. _I can't wait to meet Virginia… I don't really want to be the queen… _Eric only knew of one place to take Sadie where Isabel couldn't enter and couldn't harm Sadie. He accelerated hard enough for Sadie to open her eyes. She glanced over at him and he at her. It was a moment before he returned his eyes to the road again.

"I am sorry I hurt your arm." He said smelling the blood coagulate and bruise where his fingers wrapped around her upper arm. Sadie rubbed the spot trying to pretend it wasn't tender.

"It's fine, Eric. I'm fine."

He reached over and took her hand in his. Sadie leaned into his arm using his shoulder as a pillow. She closed her eyes and drifted off as the car sped down the highway.


	6. Chapter 6

_A fire burned brightly under the Nordic night sky illuminating the beach. The ocean crashed against the shore pushing and pulling from the tide coming in, the wind blew softly, but the night was still tranquil. The earth bound Fae had set up camp on the beach for the night's ceremony and while the young women cleaned up the remains of the wedding feast, a group of men huddled together playing an array of string and wood instruments. Wild flowers decorated the camp and brightly colored cloth hung from the tents. The smell of the salty water filled the night air while a large bon fire, located at the middle of the camp, was the heart of the celebration. _

_Fae children danced around the fire as the moonlight made their pale faces glow and Sadie twirled with them. She spun with them feeling the sand in between her feet. Sadie looked up at her new husband who stood with a group of men, a smile firmly planted on her face, she motioned for him to join her. All too happy to please his bride, Agnar joined his new wife for a dance; holding her arm up high, Sadie twirled to with the beat of the music. Her hair, filled with flowers from the day's ceremony, spun around her body as she twirled off balance into Agnar's arms. He was quite tall compared to Sadie and when she fell into him, Agnar had to bend to pick her up. He laughed a deep laugh before leaning in to kiss the bride. When the embrace was broken, Sadie tucked a lock of long golden hair behind Agnar's ear. A smile spread across his face and the moonlight caused his blue eyes to shine with a new happiness in them._

_ "__I love you." Agnar told her not breaking their eye contact, "For as long as I live, I will protect you, and keep you happy." _

_ "__And I will have your Fae children" She jumped into his arms and wrapped her legs around Agnar's waist, "and take care of you when you have clumsily hurt yourself fixing-"_

_ "__Defending" he corrected. "And I am not clumsy…" He kissed her forehead._

_ "__Defending our home" Sadie smiled at Agnar. She leaned in for a kiss. Just short of their lips touching, a scream ripped through the air and chaos spread through the camp. Agnar set Sadie down, his pulse quickened, and panic set into his voice._

_ "__Go, now. I will find you when it is safe." he told her. Sadie shook her head no and tried to pull on his arm. _

_ "__Don't go!" Sadie begged. Agnar, could see the blood spraying through the crowd of Fae. He gathered his light energy into a ball and blasted it at the blurry shape he could not make out. The light missed._

_ "__Now! Sadie, GO!" Agnar yelled before turning his attention to the group of Fae men who were trying to stop the moving shape. Destruction was left in its path, light energy flashed in the dark trying to stop the destructive force that ripped through the camp. In a matter of seconds the loud shrieks and screams were silenced. Sadie had not made it to the edge of the camp before she heard Agnar's muffled scream as blood drained from his neck. The sound stopped Sadie in her tracks, she turned to watch her husband fall to the ground. Sadie ran to him, wedding flowers falling from her hair. Agnar reached for Sadie as she kneeled beside him. He could not speak from the wound inflicted to his throat. The bright blue of Agnar's eyes was fading; they were dark blue now, making Agnar's face appear aged far beyond his years. _

_ "__Shhhh…" Sadie cried holding the wound with her hand and pulling him into her lap. She could feel the blood pumping out of the wound; gushing against her hand. "It's okay…" tears burned Sadie's cheeks as they fell from her eyes. "Don't speak, it's okay." Agnar's eyes, reflecting the moon's light in them stared at her for a moment longer. A gurgling noise came from his throat and the blood no longer gushed out of the wound in his neck. "No, no…Agnar" she pulled him close, "Do not leave me…" she looked into his beautiful blue eyes again, but he was not there. "Agnar!" she shouted, "Agnar, do not leave me!" Sobs shook her small frame as she pulled the warm body of her husband into her lap, "Do not leave me…" she whimpered into his hair. _

_The red blood looked black as it sank into the white sand. Sadie pulled away from Agnar to look around the camp. Bodies of Fae men, women, and children laid motionless as the fire cracked and popped in the distance. Sadie's body shook as she tried to even her breathing and calm herself. All around her was motionless and quiet; too quiet. The deathly silence of someone near, watching every move, lingered around Sadie. When she had scanned the entire camp she found the source of the destruction standing, motionless as the bodies in the sand, watching her. Blood drenched his linen pants, it dripped from his mouth, soaked his arms, stained his hands, and covered the rest of his body. He watched Sadie as she held her husband in her lap. The man's chest did not move, he did not breathe, just watched her. His eyes burned into Sadie, curious about her. He had never smelled anything like her; like them. _

_ "__Why do you not scream like the rest?" he asked. Sadie was confused at his question. She was light headed and unsure of how to answer him._

_ "__Why do I not scream?" Sadie yelled at him. She looked around at her dead family and friends, "My new family is dead, mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, my new husband… all dead. You have orphaned and widowed me in less time than it takes to speak one's name." She looked down at her arms as they held Agnar, then back to the pale man who stood closer to her now, "You have taken everything from me." Tears of anger burned into her face once more, "Why do I not scream?" she repeated his question, "because, you have taken all that I love and given me nothing to fear." _

_ "__You do not fear me?" He walked closer to Sadie. The woman was possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her long light brown hair shimmered in the moonlight and her hazel eyes caught the reflection of the ocean giving them a blue hue around the iris. Being the only heartbeat left on the beach, even amongst the spilt blood of the dead Fae, she smelled like sunshine and nectar. He was conflicted about killing her._

_Sadie placed Agnar's body softly on the sand and laid his arms on his stomach in a relaxed position. She closed his eyes and took one last look at her husband before she stood up to face the monster that killed her family. He was the palest man Sadie had ever seen. _

_ "__I do not fear you." She shook her head to confirm her answer as her voice cracked and trembled. Before Sadie's eyes, the man pulled her to him, Sadie's back to his chest, and he bent her neck to the side. The large massacre had aroused the man and she could feel his arousal pressing against her back. He made sure she could feel it as he pulled Sadie into him. He took his nose and placed it at the base of her neck, then slowly, ran the tip of his nose up her neck, stopping just behind her ear. It sent chills throughout Sadie's body. Sadie felt as if death were moments away._

_ "__Do you fear me now?" he whispered sadistically into her ear. Sadie heard a soft click. It was the click of death her people called it. The sound of the night devil's fang teeth slipping into place before they fed on the living. His hands roamed her body, assaulting the areas that were reserved for her husband this very evening. Sadie shoved her tears back. _

_ "__No. I do not fear you." she whispered as she welcomed the death she was about to receive. The man bit into her neck and Sadie let out a cry. Her blood rushing into his mouth tasted better than any life he had ever taken. He could smell the fresh air in the sunlight, the wine she drank to celebrate her nuptials, he could taste her joy and now her sadness. As Sadie's blood coursed through him, the man could feel her strong emotions washing over him. He pulled from her neck and spun her around. The sparkle from her eyes was gone. Sadie touched her neck and pulled back bloody fingers. The man watched her momentarily. All her emotions washing over him began to drive the man mad. He shook his head furiously trying to shake the feelings out of him. He growled like an animal and stumbled through the bodies in the sand, falling to his knees and stumbling to get back up. He rubbed his eyes before turning to watch the waves crash onto the beach. The man walked towards the water, a glimmer of light caught his eye in the distance. Standing still was difficult for him and several times he reached out to the air in front of him to catch his balance. _

_ "__You're drunk." Sadie said following him. She reached the man, who had walked out to put his feet in the water, still holding her neck to stop the bleeding. He laid in the sand, letting the water rush up the shore and soak him, then fall back out to sea. She sniffled as she sat on her knees looking down at him, "The Fae make you drunk." she was mad at him. He laughed a sinister laugh that sent a shiver down Sadie's spine. Everything about him told Sadie she was better off back on the fairy plane with her father and sisters. This was the one time she wished she hadn't left. Sadie moved to stand up and walk away while she still had a beating heart. The man grabbed Sadie by the wrist pulling her hand away from her neck; exposing her gaping wound. He bit his own wrist and held it out to her. _

_ "__Drink." he instructed. Sadie knew the magic of night devil's blood. They knew of the magic in her blood. Both were not supposed to drink the other's blood or accept it in any fashion. _

_ "__I cannot." She said to him shaking her head, "It is forbidden." She pulled her arm out of his hand to cover her wound again._

_ "__I do not wish you to bleed to death. Your bravery towards our kind would be wasted." He shoved his wrist closer to Sadie, "If you do not take it willingly, I will be forced to make you drink it." Sadie hesitated for a moment before taking his wrist. She moved it close to her mouth, "It will be okay." he said to her, his fangs still out. Sadie latched on to his wrist and felt all the soreness of her body begin to fade. She pulled away from his wrist panting. The feeling that coursed through Sadie made her almost giddy. The stars seemed brighter and the waves crashing against the shore sounded louder. Sadie was sure she could feel every grain of sand beneath her. Sadie watched the man closed the hole in his wrist. She leaned back in the sand feeling all of the muscles in her body relax. He laid there on the sand watching her, feeling her even though they did not physically touch. The man gave Sadie a drunk smile. _

_ "__I am Godric" he said turning his attention to the stars in the sky, "Godric of Ghal." He put his hands behind his head to cradle it in the sand._

_Sadie pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in to her knee caps, wrapping her arms around her shins. She was quiet. The sea rushed at them, soaking them as they sat in each other's quiet presence. A sadness filled Sadie in ways she could not explain._

_ "__This was your wedding night…" Godric said, it was not a question. He could feel her going numb on the inside. He could feel the loss for her husband growing into a deep sadness, "That was your husband…" he said knowing the man she held in her lap upon his approach was the groom. Sadie was quiet. "And many of the people here… they were like family." Godric tilted his head to look at the fairy who kept her forehead planted on her kneecaps. _

_Sadie could feel something stirring within her. Emotions she was not familiar with and confused as to why she felt them. Slowly, she picked her head up and looked at Godric, who had returned his attentions to the night sky. She was feeling what he was feeling. Abandonment, loss, sadness; there was a deep dark void she felt coming from him, a void that could not be filled. _

_ "__You were abandoned." she said quietly. Godric looked at her, a tear of blood falling from his eye. She had found the one weak spot Godric carried with him._

_ "__Yes." he said, "by my family." _

"Sadie…" the cool voice whispered into her ear, "Sadie, wake up." Eric was calling her back to life. They were in the drive way of a rather large home and he was gently pulling her from the car.

Mmmmm, Sadie moaned as she turned her head into Eric's chest.

"I don't want to get up… dreaming of home..." she yawned. Sadie tried to keep her eyes closed and stay in the dream. She wanted to see Agnar's face again, but all she could focus on was Godric stretched out on the sand looking at her, his sad eyes watching her, and he was fading away with each step Eric took towards the house.

As Eric reached the front door, Sadie's eyes were open and she was brought back to the reality of this world. He sensed Sadie's awakening and set her down as he reached around the potted plant next to the door for the key. The house was magnificent in not just size, but in beauty as well. It was set back away from the road and in the dark, Sadie could not see another house. Sensing her wonder, Eric looked around with her, admiring his secret home.

"No one for miles." he said quietly unlocking the giant wooden door. The house was modern but made to look ancient. The exterior of the house was designed to look like dark wooden panels and a large tower of stones rose up the side indicating there was a fireplace. There was a light that hung over the front door; it extended from the small awning that covered the steps, sheltering them from the soft drizzle that fell from the sky. Eric was through the door waiting for Sadie. The light from the house escaped into the dark night allowing Sadie to capture more of the house. She took in the wrought iron designs that covered the door, the chain that that held the wrought iron light fixture and the cobble stone steps that led to the front door.

"Barbaric." Sadie tried to smile at Eric as she followed him through the door. He smiled knowing Sadie had picked up on his theme. Eric flipped lights on as they walked down the long wide hallway. The walls were a soft cream color with a hint of gold in them. Wooden framed pictures of battles, Viking ships, and Vikings themselves hung in their respective places down the hallway. They entered a living room that had two doorways leading to two separate sets of hallways and a kitchen. The living room was the same golden cream color as the hallways; a massive fireplace set on the opposite wall from where they entered. Sadie looked behind her trying to find the fireplace she thought was at the front of the house. "There are two." Eric said walking into the kitchen and pulling a bottle of True Blood from the fridge. Sadie nodded as he, again, answered a question she had not asked.

She could not believe how beautiful the house was. The living room a high vaulted ceiling that made Eric look small. Light brown leather furniture sat neatly in place on the wooden floor. A large dark red and brown area rug sat under a massive, wooden coffee table in the middle of the couches. Off white candles sat in the middle of the table along with several magazines. Sadie didn't need to look at them to guess they must have been some sort of hunting and weapons type of reading. The fireplace was large, a wooden mantle sat above it with pictures of Eric and Godric, Eric and Pam, Pam and Tara, Eric and Sookie, Godric and Sadie, and one of just Sadie; a candid of Sadie that looked quit recent. A large, round, wooden candelabra suspended down from the ceiling. Similar to the light at the front door, it too, was hanging from a dark chain. There were no windows that she could find. The entire house was a complete opposite of Fangtasia.

"You don't have to stand there ." Eric said to her, his voice soft yet loud in the quietness of the house. He was scribbling something on paper. "Make yourself at home." Sadie smiled meekly as she walked further into the living room, then, joining Eric in the kitchen. "Since this is now your home." He slid the legal pad over to Sadie. "Sign this."

"What?" Sadie asked sounding confused. "No, Eric. I can't take your house."

"This is the only way it will keep other vampires out. It's temporary, but it works until the deed can be put into your name." He remembered back to when he gave Sookie her Gran's house back.

"No." Sadie protested. "Because if Isabel finds me, she will burn your house to the ground, too."

"She will not." Eric assured her taking a swig from the bottle.

"And what's going to stop her?" Sadie asked.

"You cannot find this house if you do not know where to look." Eric said very matter-of-factly. "I had a witch put a spell on this one."

Sadie looked at him as if he had gone crazy.

"You work with witches now?" She asked not amused. "Witches are bad business, Eric."

"I couldn't agree more," A flash of Marnie reminded Eric of just how troublesome witches can be, "but this one owed me a favor." He admitted, "and… to ensure that none of her family were harmed, if I kill a witch the house goes up in flames." Sadie looked at him in disbelief. Godric had told her of witches being able to control vampires and made her promise she would not have business with them. She took the pen from Eric's hand and looked at his elegant writing on the yellow paper.

"If no one can find it, why do I need to take ownership of it?" Sadie asked, hesitantly.

"Who knows what I'll have to do keep you safe? Who knows who is going to get pissed off and do a counter spell… if the spell is broken, you need a safe place you can run to." Sadie just looked at Eric for a long moment before she scribbled her name down on the pad. "Congratulations, Miss Alvey, you are now the proud owner of my most favorite home." Eric didn't seem sad at this, but rather, happy that this was her house now. This must be why there were pictures of those closest to Eric above the mantle. It was frowned upon for vampires to be documented in any media as it would be evidence of their existence and age. It was clearly forbidden for one to be documented feeding in public, for obvious reasons. "The master bedroom is down that hallway" he pointed to the left of the fireplace, "and the guest room and office are down that hallway." He pointed to the hallway to the right. The spell extends to the end of the driveway."

"Bathroom?" Sadie asked hoping to catch Eric in a 'I didn't think of that' moment.

"One in the master bedroom and one opposite guest room." he answered without skipping a beat.

"Where are we?" Sadie asked curiously.

"Gum Island in Cross Lake." Eric smiled knowing it was forbidden territory.

"Gum Island?" She asked, "That's-" she paused, "insane! No one is allowed on Gum Island"

"I know." he smiled a wide mischievous grin at her, "that is because I own it. No boats are allowed to port here; it is private property."

"You have your own faery?" She asked. Eric couldn't hold back the laugh that escaped him. Her choice of words was impeccable. Sadie realized the pun and quickly corrected herself, "for cars, Eric! Can you faery them from the mainland to the island?" He continued to laugh. Maybe it was the stress of their situation or maybe it was because Sadie was a fairy herself, but it sounded funny coming from her.

"Yes." he answered her finishing his bottle of True Blood. "I have my own _faery_."

"Do you have more than one?" She asked leaving the kitchen and heading to the master bedroom. The urge to follow Sadie intensified within Eric with every step away from him she took. He tossed the bottle into the sink and thought about the answer. He wasn't sure if he had her or not. Feelings for Sookie lingered in his deepest parts but he knew he loved Sadie. Eric was also constantly reminded that Sadie loved Godric. She loved him faithfully for a very long time. Sadie stopped in the doorway that lead to the master bedroom and turned to look at Eric. With the small trace of her blood still lingering in his system, Eric felt her looking at him. He met her eyes on the other side of the living room. He could feel her wishing he would follow her. She didn't want to be alone tonight. It didn't matter that he was the only other being in the house, it was him she wanted to keep her company.

The way the kitchen light reflected off of his face, Sadie saw Agnar in Eric as he glanced at her. Sadie's first love, her husband, _her_ Agnar, staring back at her from the kitchen. Eric watched her intently trying to figure out the emotions that were surging through his body. The shift in her emotions made him curious. Her heartbeat picked up at the thought of her dream, of her seeing Agnar's face again, she was filled with happiness and desire. Eric could smell her desire and feel her love from across the room. He was by her side in seconds, picking her up and pushing her into the wall. Sadie's arms wrapped around Eric, pulling him close as his lips parted hers for a savage kiss. Her arms worked their way into his hair, pulling and grabbing at it until it was in disarray. Eric, still holding Sadie to the wall, began to feel his way under her halter.

"Agnar…" she moaned into Eric. He stopped coldly in his tracks and pulled away from Sadie. Slowly she fell from his grip and her legs found their way back to the floor. Eric could understand if it was Godric's name that had, in a moment of unconscious passion, slipped from her mouth. He wouldn't like it, but it he would understand. Agnar, however, he could not understand. Eric stared down at Sadie, fangs out, angered.

"Who the fuck is Agnar?" He growled still keeping Sadie pressed against the wall. She looked at him with apologetic eyes. "You were saying _his_ name in the car, too!" Eric's cool breath made her weak and want to continue kissing him. It was part of the vampire lure. She shoved the thought down into her subconscious. Sadie had met angry and sad Eric, it was clear that jealous Eric has come out to play.

"Do you know why Godric made you?" Sadie asked him avoiding his question for the moment and trying to not think about ravaging Eric's body.

"I was dying." he said rather pissed off, "When he came upon me and my men."

"Did you know that the night Russell Edgington killed your family, Godric had already planned to wipe them out? He had been tracking you for days, trying to figure out how to separate you from them."

Eric shook his head as if to get rid of the memory that invaded his mind. The night Russell Edgington came to his home with those wolves, slain his family, and left Eric was a night he didn't want to think about.

"Why?" Eric asked, clearly still angered. "Why would Godric do that?"

"You are a spitting image of Agnar, Eric." Sadie said trying to calm Eric. He was more upset at the thought of his human past than about Agnar. "You are taller than he is, but almost a dead ringer through the face, the eyes, and…" she reached out to touch Eric's torso but stopped just short of his grey suit jacket.

"Who. The. Fuck. Is. Agnar?" he asked slowly, his voice raising with each word. Eric looked her in the eyes, not letting her change subject anymore. "And why is he so important to you?" Eric was on the verge of growling. Every fiber in him wanted to throw Sadie over the living room couch and make her his. Eric wanted to forget about Sookie, about Godric, about Pam, about the club, about Russell Edgington, and all of the bullshit that he had been caught up in these last few years. Eric pulled his fist back and punched a hole in in the wall, clearing Sadie's face by inches.

"He was my husband." Sadie said flinching away from Eric's blow to the wall. Sadie realized that Eric was beyond upset. She wasn't sure about what exactly, but she knew he needed some answers. She put her hands on his chest and lightly pushed him back until his back met the opposite wall. Sadie looked him in the eyes keeping his attention off of destroying the house. "Godric killed Agnar… he killed my friends, my new family- Agnar's family, he killed the entire clan." Eric was still looking at her almost confused, "on my wedding night" she said softly. "I never even got to give myself to my husband." she tried to smile at the thought but the emotions caught in her throat came out instead. Sadie could see confusion on Eric's face, "Godric is my Russell Edgington…" she began to cry, "and because he forced his blood on me, I felt his loneliness and his isolation… and he felt mine." Eric extended his arm out and wiped the tears from Sadie's face. "Godric found me every night after that night."

"Why didn't he kill you, too?" Eric asked wanting to hear the big secret he knew was kept from him since his creation. The secret why she always found an excuse to come with Godric to Shreveport when he was visiting Eric, or why Eric always caught her looking away from him when they were having a family visit.

"He enjoyed the fact that he did not scare me. When he would find me each night, he would ask if I was afraid yet, and I always told him no." Sadie paused, "He was like clockwork. It didn't matter how far I traveled alone by day; at night, he was there. In the beginning, I think it was because we could feel how alone we were, then, slowly, over the decades, it just turned into something else; he tried to win my love." Sadie paused in her story trying to think of what to say and what not to say, "After about 40 years, I finally gave into him."

"Only 40?" Eric asked. Sadie couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or he was implying she didn't hold out long enough for him.

"I forgave him because the burden to carry all of that… that hate for him doing what he did… that hate was too much for me to carry; but it was so hard to love him." Sadie looked down from Eric, "I missed my Agnar. I thought about him every day. We would have had kids by this point in our lives and our kids would have had kids and I think Godric sensed that this pained me." She paused not wanting to look at Eric. "Then the Vikings began to take over everything…" she laughed and wiped tears from her face, "And Godric killed clan after clan, night after night, outraged that my love for him did not come fast enough. I tried to explain this was not something that I could just turn on, no matter how much I wished I could." Sadie thought long and hard before she looked up at Eric. "Then he saw you, one night, on the battle field. He fell in love with the way you fought and your bravery. He left me early those nights to seek you out until you were wounded. I didn't see Godric for three nights after that and I thought maybe he had grown tired of waiting for me to finally accept to be his." Sadie looked away then back to Eric, "On the fourth night I thought I was going to be alone, but Godric showed up… with you."

Eric looked down at Sadie as forgotten pieces of the puzzle were slid into place. He felt he had been lied to by his maker. Eric remembered the night he met Sadie. He remembered the long sleeved tan dress she wore. She had a leather belt with a gold buckle in place and a black hooded cloak. Her brown hair peeked out from under the hood and her eyes looked sad, but happy to see the two of them. When she looked at Eric, it was as if she had seen a ghost.

"I was made for you…" Eric whispered confirming the idea that Godric had made him for a reason other than to become a maker. "Godric made me to replace Agnar." He looked away from Sadie, down towards the master bedroom.

"Yes." Sadie said sadly. "Godric made you for me… to be happy…" As she spoke, it seemed to cause Eric more pain, but if the truth was coming out, she was going to tell it all, "But the look on your face" she continued, "the confusion, and sadness, and determination to kill anything in your path… all of that was mixed with the jealousy and feeling of being left behind I could feel stirring in Godric." It was quiet for a moment. Sadie stopped the story long enough for it to sink into Eric.

"Why did you choose Godric?" Eric asked, a sadness filled his voice. Sadie didn't need his blood to know that Eric had felt betrayed by the one person he respected the most. Eric lived his existence out believing he was made to accompany Godric, to battle beside him, to share the world with him, to learn things a human life would never allow. Eric thought Godric wanted to be a maker and he was worthy of being chosen to pass down Godric's bloodline.

"Godric would have killed you." Sadie answered his question. "You were so young and knew nothing of how to protect yourself, let along someone else…" Sadie stopped waiting for Eric to look at her, "He was jealous of the way I looked at you because you reminded me so much of my Agnar."

"But wasn't that the point?" Eric asked confused, anger spiking his voice, "That he made me for you to be happy?... and then he was mad when he could feel how happy I made you?"

"I didn't say it made sense." Sadie was glad that Eric was following along, "I think Godric's intensions were in the right place, but, as the humans say, it was easier said than done. He couldn't let go of me and he knew it. I knew it, and it was unfair to drag such a young newborn vampire into a complicated situation with true death being the only outcome…" Sadie stopped here and took a deep breath before continuing, " Eric, if I had chosen you over, Godric, I would have had to watch him kill Agnar all over again" She shrugged her shoulders, "so I choose Godric and got to watch you learn how to become a bad ass vampire those first hundred years. I let him love me and after a long while… I did love him back. And he adored you more as his child than as a pile of goo on the sand." Sadie tried to laugh but Eric did not. "I'm sorry if I hurt your or insulted you. It was certainly an error on my part and I did not mean to upset you."

"You did not make an error." Eric said callously.

"We all make errors, sweetheart."

"Did you ever love me?" Eric asked ignoring her apology. His question took Sadie completely by surprise.

"I'm sorry… what?"

"Did you ever love me?" he asked again, "It's a simple yes or no question." There was a pause between them as Sadie looked up into Eric's eyes.

"From the day Godric brought you to me… I have always loved you, but Godric couldn't know, or feel that love or he would have gone mad."


	7. Chapter 7

Eric and Sadie sat on the floor of the hallway for a long moment; both of them not sure what to say. He watched her in a way Sadie couldn't figure out; his eyes watched her, but in a way, he wasn't there. She couldn't tell if he was angry with her, hurt, or regretting her being there all together. Sadie could hear the second hand of Eric's watch ticking as the minutes passed. The quietness built between them, it was so thick and almost tangible.

"Are you mad at me?" Sadie's voice shook as she broke the silence. Eric's eyes were glued to Sadie. A million thoughts raced through his mind, none of them towards her were angry or hostile. In light of this new information about Godric, Eric felt sad, a little betrayed, but as he sat there with Sadie, a million new pieces of his existence were being put together. Things Eric couldn't explain started to make sense.

"No, I am not mad at you." he said calmly. It was quiet. Once again, Sadie could hear the ticking of his watch. The silence was deafening, "Do I scare you?" he asked. Sadie looked up to the hole punched in the wall then back to Eric. She found it a little weird that Eric asked her this since it was the same thing Godric had asked her the night they met.

"I suppose not." Sadie answered. She looked at Eric not sure what to say. She knew he could feel a fraction of what she was feeling, but Sadie couldn't feel him at all. It bothered her to be so closed off from Eric. Being Fae had always allowed Sadie to know what Agnar was thinking and Godric had shared his blood with Sadie over the centuries. She seemed to develop a sixth sense with him; knowing when he had woke for the evening, a shift in mood, or when he was near to her. Yet, Eric was still such a mystery to her.

"You were scared when I punched the wall, were you not?" Eric challenged her answer.

"Yes, that made me jump." she answered. "It bothers me that you can feel what I feel, but I cannot feel what you feel." she paused, "I always knew what Godric was feeling… I wish I had known what made you so upset."

Eric lifted a curious eyebrow at Sadie's confession.

"Do you wish to have a blood tie with me?" he asked her, clearly not bothered anymore about their recent conversation. "Would this make you happy?"

"I don't know. It still feels like a betrayal." Sadie was conflicted. She rubbed her eyes with her hands and leaned her head back against the wall. On one hand, it would help her to understand Eric better, but blood was sacred; on both sides. Exchanging blood with a vampire, for a Fae, had always been forbidden by Sadie's people. Even after all of the yeas that have passed, it felt like betrayal to her people and to Godric.

"Come." Eric said as he stood up, extending his hand for hers. Sadie took it and followed his lead down the hallway. A light clicked on to reveal the master bedroom. Midnight blue walls caused the room to feel overly masculine. A large wooden dresser with mirror sat on one wall next to a dark brown closet door. The bed was custom made; large oak beams came up out of the floor and extended above the bed while four more oak beams connected at the top to create the frame for a canopy. Sheer cream colored linen wrapped up the dark posts and around the upper part of the frame. The head board was dark oak, too; a Viking ship sailing rough waters was carved, in detail, into the headboard. Cream colored linen sheets and a goose down comforter made up the bed. Matching goose down pillows lay in a mountain at the headboard. Soft cream colored carpet lined the room. Sadie looked up to the light fixture; it was a beautiful crystal chandelier.

"It's beautiful." Sadie whispered. She could see similar tastes between Eric and Godric, as Godric had also furnished their home with wooden furniture.

"Then you won't be remodeling?" Eric asked trying to smooth over the edginess he felt radiating off of Sadie. He smirked at her and Sadie could feel the tension of their fight ease from her body, but it did not leave entirely. Eric walked across the bedroom to the master bathroom and stopped at the door waiting for Sadie's answer.

"No… not at all…" Sadie answered as she walked over to sit on the bed.

"I will make sure the hole in the wall is taken care of." he said flatly. Sadie just nodded her head in agreement, the hole in the hallway was the last thing on her list to worry about. Eric disappeared into the master bathroom and then returned, shirtless, as he walked into the closet. Sadie heard the click of a light and turned to see where it came from.

Sadie crawled up on the bed and laid there, stomach down, watching for Eric to return from the closet. When Eric returned from the closet, Sadie realized that his belt was gone and his socks and shoes were also missing. The button to his suit pants was undone and for a moment she wondered if he was being intentional with his dress. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to squeeze the image of his perfectly sculpted body from her head.

"In here," he pointed to the rather large walk-in closet, "there is a secret room." Sadie nodded. She wondered how many secret rooms Eric had and if this whole 'secret cubby' idea he had come from Godric. Sadie was sure that over the years, Godric and Eric had shared different ideas of how to stay safe as the world around them advanced. "If the need arises, I can go to ground in the cubby."

"Is it that time already?" Sadie asked looking for a clock and not finding one. She had clocks all over the house in Dallas and the lack clocks and knowing the time here was beginning to drive her nuts.

"No. I still have three to four more hours, but the room is light tight, so..." He was by her side now, laying on his back. Sadie looked over at him. Eric was almost close enough for their arms to touch, but far enough away that if she did touch him, Eric would know it was intentional.

"Your friend knows how Godric died?" Sadie asked trying not to look at him. The space between them was intense. Sadie knew if she looked at Eric, having just dreamed of Agnar earlier this evening, she would not be able to keep her hands off of him. Sadie twisted her hands together and concentrated on them, concentrated on anything except for Eric.

"Yes." Eric retrieved his phone from his pocket and text Sookie. "We will meet Miss Stackhouse at her house tomorrow evening. She is Fae and may be able to use her 'gift' to help you understand what happened to Godric…" Eric was very by the book with this matter. While he felt betrayed by Godric, he still loved his maker dearly. Eric also needed to make sure that Sadie got the answers she deserved without his mixed feelings for Sookie getting in the way.

"Stackhouse?" Sadie repeated, "I know this name…" she thought harder. "Stackhouse…" Sadie looked at Eric to ask a question. Before she could make out the first word, Eric leaned over to kiss her. Trying to pick up where they had left off earlier, before the confessions and the hole in the hallway wall. Eric rolled Sadie on to her back as he kissed her more passionately than before. She returned the kiss without hesitation. Eric pulled away, breaking their embrace, but not leaving his position over Sadie.

"Do not call me Agnar again." He growled softly at her, a slight pain in his voice.

"No…" Sadie shook her head no, "I won't." Eric nuzzled her neck and she heard the familiar 'click' of his fangs dropping. He smelled her neck and could hear her pulse quicken. A thick vein in Sadie's neck popped out at Eric, tempting him to play dirty; he kissed the vein softly and then followed it down her neck to her shoulder. "It's okay to bite..." she said confidently. "I know the True Blood doesn't really-"

"I want to do more than just bite you." he said kissing the soft spot behind her ear. He could feel Sadie's arms wrapping around his torso trying to pull him closer; Eric remained balanced off of her enough to not crush her, but close enough to not let her escape either.

"You want to completely feed on me…" she stated trying to figure out what he wanted. Eric was planting small kisses along her jaw bone. He gave a small laugh into her ear letting her know this wasn't what he was talking about.

"Not exactly…" Eric moved along her jawbone to her other ear and bit it playfully. He began to kiss the soft spot behind her ear lightly, moving down her neck to the nape, and then further to the top of her cleavage. "This…" He yanked softly at the bottom of the V neckline of Sadie's halter top, "Needs to come off." His hands slid down to unbutton her jeans. Sadie sat up and turned around for Eric. The action was automatic for her. Eric moved so that he was sitting on his knees behind Sadie and gathered her hair in one hand, then moved it off to the side. Eric tugged at the bow around Sadie's neck that held the small black tank top in place. The silky ribbon came undone easily and the top half of her shirt fell forward. Eric slid his hands under the material and delicately pulled the fabric up over Sadie's head, raising her arms above her head in the process. The shirt was discarded onto the floor quickly. As Sadie brought her arms down, Eric reached around and cupped both of her breasts in his hand. Giving them a gentle squeeze, Sadie fell back against him.

Leaning back into Eric allowed Sadie the leverage needed to remove her jeans. Eric looked over Sadie's shoulder to see all of her nakedness except for the small silky blue panties she still wore. He smelled her neck again then wrapped his arm around Sadie, pulling her close, as they lay down in a spooning position. Eric's hands grabbed at Sadie's hips pulling her into him; his arm snaked under the pillow Sadie rested her head on while his other hand moved from her hips up her flat stomach to her round perky breasts. Eric toyed with her small pink nipple and a small moan escaped from Sadie. He smiled at her reaction to him and his touch. Of all the women he touched over the years, it was clear that Sadie was already his favorite; he adored her more than Sookie. It was a feeling Eric thought wasn't possible to have.

Sadie arched her back, pushing her hips harder into Eric's. She could feel his hardness through the suit pants. Eric buried his face into her hair as his hand left her breast to move lower down her body. Sadie squirmed under his touch until he reached the light blue lace of her panties. Another moan escaped Sadie, only this time it wasn't out of pleasure; it was a moan of need, verbalizing the want that was between her legs. Eric slid his hands in between her legs and they parted slightly. He could not believe how hot and moist she was through her panties.

"Open…" he whispered into Sadie's ear as he pulled on her knee. Sadie obeyed without question, allowing Eric to pull her leg over his own, giving him easier access. Using his index finger, Eric trailed a straight line from her knee down her inner thigh. A tickling sensation ran though Sadie and again, she squirmed at his touch. It was a tortuous and sensual feeling at the same time. Using the arm that Eric had planted under the pillow, he drew it back enough so that he could prop himself up behind Sadie. Sadie's head sank into the soft pillow. Eric's other hand continued to tickle the soft flesh of her inner thighs.

"Is that where you're getting your dinner this evening?" Sadie asked trying not to push herself into Eric's fingers. He toyed with the lace on her panties, thinking about her remark. Sadie could feel his cool fingers toying with the fabric; it made her blood run hot through her veins.

"Is that where I should get my dinner?" he asked amused. Eric was used to women throwing themselves at him. Having a little tension in the air made him enjoy delaying the moment. Sadie smiled and before she could answer him back, Eric's hands were rubbing the hot spot through her panties. Sadie closed her eyes and grabbed her own breasts, squeezing them in her hands. Eric's motions started slowly and then quickly picked up speed. Sadie's hips began to move in rhythm with his hands.

"Eric…" she moaned in response to him.

"Hm?" His eyes were closed and he could smell Sadie as her scent filled the room. Sadie reached up, putting her hand behind Eric's neck to pull him closer to her; turning to find his lips for a kiss. Eric could feel her pulse quicken and the smell of her blood pumping through her body was the most delicious thing he had ever smelled. The small moans and whimpers she made in response to his touch made Eric want her more; it was a soft sound he wanted to hear all the time. He slipped his hand under the soft blue material until he could feel the small, soft nub with no barrier. His cool fingers against Sadie's hot wetness caused her to arch her back against Eric. "I'm sorry… you were saying, sweetheart?" Eric asked with a smile on his face. Sadie let out another moan in response to his cool fingers touching her.

Sadie bit her lower lip and grabbed her breasts again, pinching her own nipples, as Eric's finger found its way into her opening. She held her breath for a long moment before opening her mouth and Eric quickly muffled whatever noise she was about to make with a hard kiss. He continued to kiss her as he added a second finger to the first. Moving his fingers quickly in and out, Sadie raised her hips off of the mattress to meet his thrusts. She was hotter and wetter than before. Eric could feel her soft walls gripping and releasing his fingers. Not only could Sadie feel herself getting close to spilling over the edge, but Eric could feel it too. He could feel her emotions building, he could hear her pulse racing, and he could smell her desire. His pace quickened slightly and Sadie reached down to grab Eric's forearm. She clutched his arm tightly and tensed her body.

"You want me to stop?" he asked, his voice was mixed with arousal and curiosity. His voice was soft and silky in her ear. Eric knew the answer was no, but he wanted to hear it come from Sadie. "…I can…" his pace began to slow.

"No…" Sadie said shocked at Eric slowing down, "please don't…" Eric didn't stop, but he did not return to the pace she had become accustomed to. He could tell the slowness of his fingers was driving her crazy. Eric leaned down and took her hard nipple in his teeth. He bit down softly and Sadie gave a small yelp.

"Then why did you grab my arm?" he bit her earlobe then licked her neck. Eric waited, feeling Sadie's frustration from not getting the release she needed, "What do you want me to do?" he asked, a bit of darkness laced his voice.

Sadie pushed into his slow pace trying to get him to adjust to her own thrusts. She was annoyed that he would bring her so close and then not let her have a release. Sadie wasn't trying to stop him when she grabbed his arm, she was trying to get to the point where Eric could replace Godric… and Agnar.

"What do you want?" he asked again, Eric's voice a little less soft now and a bit more rough, focused on finding the answer. As his fingers slid in and out of Sadie, she leaked her wetness onto the comforter, his thumb found the soft nub that he originally began rubbing when his hands had slipped under her panties. Sadie moaned loudly into the quiet of the bedroom but Eric did not quicken his pace. She begged with her hips, continuing to thrust them against his hand. Sadie squirmed against Eric, trying to close her legs, but he would not loosen his grip on her. "Answer me…" he whispered into her ear. He could feel her climax coming, but he would not give it to her until she answered him. "Sadie…" he growled, "what do you want?"

"To forget…" she moaned feeling Eric perfectly sync his thrusts with her own.

"To forget what?" Eric asked increasing his speed slightly. It wasn't the answer he had expected and now, not only was he curious, but Eric had Sadie in a position where he would get an honest answer out of her. Sadie didn't answer him. Her eyes were closed and she was focused on feeling the pleasing sensation Eric was allowing her to have in between her legs. "What is it that you want to forget?" Eric asked again, whispering into her ear.

"Faster…" she purred against him. Eric granted the small request as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"Tell me…" he requested as he worked on bringing her close to the edge. Her body was warm and flush next to his. Sadie whimpered as she felt the pressure building in her.

"I want to forget them…" Sadie moaned as she focused on the feeling in between her legs. "…forget the pain…"

Eric increased his speed again and cleared strands of hair off of Sadie's neck with his nose. They could both feel her about to spill over the edge. Simultaneously, Sadie's walls gripped Eric's fingers and she held her breath as her body tensed and Eric's fangs punctured the vein in her neck. A warmth ran through her and into him. Eric could taste, smell, hear, and feel Sadie's climax with her. Sadie's body trembled and shook from the orgasm and the throbbing pain in her neck. It didn't matter how many times she was bitten as she climaxed, the feeling of her neck being punctured always made Sadie climax harder. Sadie grabbed a fist full of Eric's hair pushing his head deeper into her neck.

As Sadie opened her eyes and gasped for air, Eric pulled away to lay on his back. Sadie rolled over to face him, causing his hand so slide out from her panties. Eric leaned back into the pillows and grabbed Sadie by hips to pull her on top of him. Straddling Eric, he pulled her close to bite the other side of Sadie's neck. She ran her fingers through Eric's hair pulling him close. The coolness of his chest pressed against the hotness of her breasts and it sent a cooling sensation through her body. Eric pulled her closer to him fearing she might escape. Her warm bare chest pressed against his, the fresh blood mixed with the smell of her sex in the air made Eric latch onto Sadie's neck even harder.

"Eric, you have to stop…" she moaned, "Please…" Eric slowed down, but he did not stop. "You will kill me." She panted. With those words, Eric pulled away, blood dripping from his mouth; eyes dilated and a confused look on his face. Sadie had blood dripping down both sides of her neck. It dripped down her neck, through the valley in between her breasts and down to her bellybutton.

"You taste…" Eric licked the blood from in between her breasts. Sadie moved off of Eric's lap. He tried to grab her, to keep the blood coming. Sadie moved away from Eric and he found himself unable to keep his balance. Eric rolled off of the bed, "like…" he looked up at Sadie who was peering over the edge, "Claudine…" Eric reached up and tried to grab Sadie , "only… much, much better." She pulled away from his reach and joined him on the floor. Her hands wrapped around her neck to try to get the bleeding to stop. As she sat next to Eric, Sadie pulled her hands from her neck and looked at the blood on them. She was covered in it. Eric grabbed her hand and licked the blood off of her fingers.

"Eric…" She whispered, a weakness laced Sadie's voice. Eric saw the blood still trickling out of her neck and he pulled himself to his knees. She watched him closely not sure if he would bite her again. Sadie moved to within arm's reach of Eric as he bit his finger allowing his own blood to pool at the tip. Softly, he touched the four holes on Sadie's neck and they closed instantly. He smiled at her as he returned to licking the blood from her hands. Sadie shook her head at him, "You're drunk." she stated. Eric laughed at her as he licked the blood from her flat stomach, up through the divide between her breasts and to closed holes.

"You are delicious." he smiled at her, enunciating every syllable and stumbling to his feet. Eric's suit pants had blood on them and under normal circumstances, he would be aggravated. He helped Sadie to stand up next to him. There was blood all over the bed, the floor, the pillows, Eric, and only a little left on Sadie. "When can I have more? I killed the last fairy I ate." He grabbed the wooden bed post to stabilize himself.

"Well, that's comforting." Sadie said helping him catch his balance. "Claudine?" she asked.

"Yes. She was delicious, too. She was Sookie's… fairy god mother." Eric laughed a hysterical laugh at the last part. When he was done laughing, Eric focused on Sadie. "You have the most perfect pair of breasts." Feeling aware of her nakedness, Sadie wrapped an arm around her breasts, shielding them from Eric. "Don't do that!" He reached out for Sadie, "They are mine…" Sadie grabbed the blood stained comforter and covered herself from Eric. "Why did you do that?" he asked blinking his eyes several times trying to figure her out.

"Come with me." Sadie put her arm around his waist and Eric put his arm around her shoulders. She led Eric to the overly large bathroom. The hot tub could easily fit a football team in it and the shower had three heads. There were two sinks that fit into a cream colored marble vanity. The mirror took up the entire wall from the top of the sinks up to the ceiling. The floor had large white tiles and a large midnight blue rug that laid in the middle of the bathroom.

"Are we going to have sex in the bathroom?" Eric asked eyeballing the hot tub. Sadie could hear the excitement in his voice. "I like the jets…"

"Not tonight." Sadie answered Eric back with a smile. She helped him sit on the edge of the tub. Sadie reached into the shower and turned on the water so it could heat up. It sprayed out one of the heads and then out of a second. "Okay." she said to herself turning back to Eric. He was watching her with a look on his face she had never seen before. Eric looked at her like he was fighting back a smile; he looked like a little boy who was overly happy on the inside, but was too scared to show it on the outside—he was giddy in a way. Eric was normally stoic, angry, or trying to get laid.

Sadie got the comforter adjusted around her so it would not fall off and she turned back to Eric. "Stand up." She instructed helping him to his feet. Eric was still loopy from the blood. Sadie brought the zipper of his pants down and let them fall to the floor.

"ooooh" he said with a smile. "we are playing water sports! I'm a Viking… I'm good at water sports." Sadie laughed at him.

"Take those off." She said gesturing to his silky black boxer shorts. "Then get in there." Sadie pointed to the shower.

"Alone?" he asked, a bit of confusion in his voice. Eric looked from the shower to Sadie then back to the shower.

"Yes, alone." Sadie couldn't help but laugh at him. Eric scrunched his face at her. In his drunken state, there was an innocence to Eric that made his seem human.

"What?" He asked surprised, "I can't go in there alone!" he pointed to the steamy glass door that kept the water in. "Who knows what would happen to me!"

"Oh my, Gods!" Sadie pulled his boxers off before she dropped the comforter on the bathroom floor and grabbed Eric by the hand. She led them him into the shower. He had a smug smile on his face as the water stung both of their skins. Sadie jumped as the hot water hit her body. She turned and saw the look in Eric's eyes, he was completely sober. "You tricked me!" She punched his chest as she adjusted to the hot water. Eric smiled at her and chuckled. He didn't bother to wipe the water from his eyes. "Let me out." Sadie giggled as she tried to move past Eric. He moved to block the shower door. Eric took a strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear.

"You don't like that you can't feel what I'm feeling." It was not a question. She found his statement odd for a shower conversation but Eric could feel the unease she had about not knowing how he really felt. They both knew Eric wasn't one to verbalize things, let alone his feelings.

"It bothers me..." she replied as the water fully soaked her hair and began to rinse leftover blood off of both of them. Eric bit his own wrist and handed it to her. She looked at him suspiciously. Sadie knew that once she had his blood there would be no turning back. They would be connected the same way she and Godric were connected. Since Godric had met the true death, she had felt not just the metaphoric void in her chest, but a literal one, too. Even though Sadie didn't know what it had meant at the time, the hole she was feeling was Godric's blood beginning to leave her body. "The last time a vampire did this…" Sadie rubbed her eyes and ran her hands through her wet hair. Eric's blood dripped into the shower water and swirled down the drain. Eric could feel the tension building in her emotions.

"What is the matter? I thought you wanted this?" Eric asked a little shocked, a little confused, and a little annoyed.

"I do…" Sadie replied looking up at him. The water ran down on them and it was the only sound they heard for a long moment. Sadie knew that if she passed this opportunity, she may not get another one; she was also worried about hurting Eric by rejecting his blood. It had been a long time since she was able to have her own feelings to deal with.

"Then what is the problem?" He asked not letting the wound heal.

"I didn't have a choice the last time." She said looking at Eric's arm then up to his face. "And it can be intense…"

"Do you want me to close this?" he asked holding his wrist up to her. Sadie looked at it for a long moment before shaking her head no. A glimpse of Godric the night he made her drink his blood flashed though Sadie's head. She took Eric's wrist in her hands and brought it to her mouth. He tasted sweet like honey mead. Sadie could smell the North Sea as she consumed his blood and for a moment, she could hear a loud, thunderous roar of a laugh echo in her ear, and the sound of waves crashing against a ship. She knew it was Eric laughing during his human life. Sadie pulled away and she felt herself relax instantly, a feeling of happiness settled down within her.

Eric closed the wound on his wrist and waited for Sadie to say something. She just stared at the shower door feeling Eric's emotions in her. She could feel his grief for Godric, his pain at feeling betrayed by him, she could feel his happiness when he looked at her, and other emotions she could not explain. When a few moments had passed and Sadie had not said anything, Eric finally broke the silence.

"Are you okay?" his voice was quiet but concerned. Sadie leaned her back against the shower wall before she looked at him and nodded.

"It's different." she replied. A lightheadedness filled her head and for several moments she felt a cold liquid fire run through her body, "How you feel about me versus how Godric felt."

"How is it different?"

Sadie shook her head as if trying to dismiss her comment. She was overwhelmed with all of Eric's emotions.

"How is it different?" he asked again with a tone that let Sadie know she wasn't going to be able to not answer him.

"You actually care about me… you just might love me under that angry bad-ass vampire exterior." she looked away from Eric in disbelief and was happy that the water masked the tears that were slowly forming in her eyes.

"And Godric?" Eric urged her on. "How were his feelings toward you?"

"Godric always felt proud… like he had owned something no one else did… at least, that's how it feels compared to what I feel in you."

"You were his…" Eric stated the obvious, "Anyone to have you would feel proud because you _are_ something that no one else has."

"I was his… but I wasn't" Sadie corrected. Eric looked at her with an 'I-don't-follow' face. "Godric claimed dominion over me, but he never asked or declared me as his. It was more of an understanding or unspoken agreement." Eric raised an eyebrow at the new information. "So, in theory, I wasn't 'his' to give to Isabel and I wasn't 'his' to be gifted to you in his will."

"So, you do not actually belong to any vampire." Eric clarified.

"No..." Sadie said sadly, "I never have."

Eric ran his hands through his hair; the water spiked it and Sadie realized how sexy it was this way. She watched the water bead and run down his face. Sadie watched the water hit his perfectly sculpted arms and torso. She found herself gawking at his waist.

"Be mine." Eric said over the spraying water, "belong to me." Sadie felt his confidence mix with nervousness in case she said no. She could feel his budding excitement if she said yes. "You are already a part of this family with Pam, Tara, and myself. Just be mine. Officially."

Sadie stared up into those perfect blue eyes and thought about it for a moment before responding to him. He had not forced his blood on her and Eric was giving her the choice to refuse his offer; both things Godric had never done. Eric looked down at Sadie—the look she saw in his eyes made the pain of losing Agnar and Godric not hurt so bad.

"Okay." she agreed. "I will be yours." Eric leaned down and kissed her as the water washed over them.


	8. Chapter 8

Sookie looked at the phone as it vibrated in her hand. The text message coming though was from Eric. She opened the message and read it quickly.

"What are you going to tell Bill?" Alcide asked pulling at the bed sheets and readjusting to put his arm around her.

"I don't know." She looked at the clock. The sun would be up in three to four hours. "If I lie, I am positive he will know… but if I tell him I am working for Eric… that could be a whole can of worms I don't even want to deal with. Not when I'm getting my life back and people around me haven't been overwhelmed with death and sadness."

Alcide sat up next to Sookie and glanced at the clock. He would need to be up in a few hours for work but he didn't want Sookie to think he wasn't being supportive. Alcide knew that no matter what she told Bill, it would bring the vampires around again. There were a lot of reasons why Sookie was cursing Eric, but she knew that it wasn't Eric's fault. Sookie felt that if she wanted to converse with vampires, it should be her own business and she had the right to not share that business if she didn't want to. Alcide reached up to lightly squeeze Sookie's neck. The pressure felt good and Sookie felt her muscles relax. She dialed Bill's number and listened as it rang several times before Bill's voice filled her ear.

"You have talked to Eric?" Bill asked, although to Sookie, it sounded more like a statement.

"More money has gone missing from Fangtasia and he has asked me to help him look into the matter." Sookie said quickly.

"And you agreed?"

"Yes." she said curtly. There was a pause between the two.

"That is very curious." Bill broke the silence, "Since the last time money was stolen from Eric, he made an example out of the culprit. I'm surprised that anyone would try it again."

"Well, that is what he has asked of me." Sookie said trying to end the conversation.

"And Alcide is okay with you going to Fangtasia to help a vampire he has such distaste for?" Bill's voice was smooth and a bit condescending. He made Sookie feel like a child who had been caught in a lie.

"No…" Sookie looked at Alcide, who could hear the conversation through the phone. Aggravated at Bill's tone towards Sookie, Alcide grabbed the phone from her hand and put it up to his own ear.

"No I am not okay with it, but if it keeps Northman on his side of town and out of our hair, I will help Sookie with what he is asking of her. The last thing I want is Eric Northman being invited back into this house."

"You would risk Sookie's life by walking her though a bar filled with vampires who could tear her apart the moment she walked through the door?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it when took her to Fangtasia to meet Eric…" There was a silence between the two. "But to answer your question, no, I wouldn't. That is why Northman is coming here; it's still safer." He eyed Sookie and Alcide felt himself getting caught up in Bill's tangle of questions. Alcide knew that Eric would be coming to the house. As much as he didn't like the idea of Eric being invited into the house again, he couldn't deny that it was much safer for Sookie.

"You are risking Sookie's home and safety to help Eric?" Bill questioned. Alcide paused and held Sookie's gaze. It didn't matter what they said, Bill would question them as if the last several months had not shown just how safe he could keep Sookie. When it came to Sookie, Bill felt that no one could keep her as safe as he could.

"She will be safe with both of us here, if that is what Sookie chooses. If she decides she wants to dress up, drive to Fangtasia, and discuss her business with Eric, she is capable of doing that. I will support whatever decision Sookie makes. I advise you do the same." Alcide hung up the phone. He handed it back to Sookie and they exchanged a glance with one another.

It was around 7:20 in the evening when Sadie began to stir. Eric was sprawled out on the bed beside her; watching Sadie as she stretched. The tan and olive green microfleece blanket was soft against Sadie's skin. Eric leaned over and kissed her forehead before she fully opened her eyes.

"Evening." Eric said to her; his voice low and raspy. He could feel her wakening up and becoming coherent. It was a similar feeling to knowing the television was on but the volume muted; a small electric hum. Sadie sat up pulling the blanket to wrap around her. "It's almost a four hour drive to Bon Temps." Eric stated. Sadie took the full scenery of Eric in: leaning against the headboard, legs crossed and stretched out in front of him in black pajama pants, with his hands behind his head to keep the bumps and edges of the wooden headboard from pressing against his skull. With his arms behind his head, it expanded his ribcage causing Eric to look larger than normal.

"Is that where your friend… Sookie, lives?" Sadie rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Her hair fell lazily into her face and over her bare chest.

"Yes." Eric answered, "If we leave by eight we should get there by midnight." Eric stood from the bed and walked into the closet. Sadie ventured out into the living room to retrieve her bag and carry it back to the master bedroom. Eric was dressed in a new pair of black jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Sadie noticed the shirt hugged Eric's arms and torso; it was as if he wasn't wearing a shirt at all. Letting the blanket fall to the floor, Sadie pulled out a black tube top and squeezed into it. Eric watched as she shimmied into black lacy thong and then into a denim mini skirt. She grabbed a toiletry bag from her duffle and turned to head to the bathroom. Eric stood in the bedroom, lingering to watch, as Sadie applied her make-up and tried to tame her hair into a messy bun. Exiting the bathroom, Sadie grabbed a three quarter sleeved lacy shirt and put it on over her tube top. She pulled a pair of black leather knee high boots from the bag and slipped her legs into them. Any form heeled boot that came to Sadie's knees or thigh was on Godric's approved list. In Dallas, Godric had helped Sadie acquire quite a few pair.

Eric moved from his spot where he watched Sadie adjust the lacy shirt. As he stalked up to her, Eric mad a point to barely touch Sadie when he reached across her to pick up his watch. It was quarter to eight.

"What's wrong?" Sadie asked him. She was rushing to get ready and Eric was now looking down at her smiling an evil smile. He leaned down to kiss her, feeling all of the curves of Sadie's body. Eric reached down to run his hands under her skirt. She could feel the back of Eric's cool fingers run along the inside of her thigh. Eric lifted Sadie up and sat her down on the dresser; he kneeled before her and kissed the soft flesh of her thigh from her knee to her thong.

"Just hungry…" he said pushing her skirt up and her knees apart. Eric licked the warmth of her inner thigh and Sadie leaned back against the wall. She could hear his fangs come out and an instant later Sadie felt Eric delicately biting the thin skin in between her legs. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his head closer for a better bite. Eric tossed her legs over his shoulders and grabbed her hips to pull her closer. In all of the years Sadie had been intimate with Godric, he had never bitten her there in such a way that turned her on. Godric was more predictable when it came intimacy. Not that Sadie didn't enjoy the sex, but he came from a time when experimenting was frowned upon. Sadie figured it was something that stuck to Godric from his human life. Eric's human life began in a time when sexual exploration happened, but wasn't discussed. Sadie could feel now that Eric explored a lot more than just the sea. He pulled away and closed the fang holes he opened on Sadie's inner thigh. She was amazed at how clean Eric was when he pulled away from her. He quickly pulled Sadie back to her feet and fixed her skirt.

"Can you drive?" Sadie joked knowing how her blood had affected him the previous night.

"Yes." he responded grabbing a leather jacket from the closet and putting it on. "The more often I have your blood, the less likely it is to affect me in such a way. Come." He said walking out of the bedroom. She followed him out to the corvette and got in. Eric pulled out of the long driveway and towards the faery.

"You are nervous." he said driving the car on to the boat. "What do you have to be nervous about?" Sadie was slow to answer him. Eric looked at the clock then back to her. He exited the car and started the faery to head to the main land. Sadie remained in the car and thought about how to answer his question. How was she supposed to explain to Eric that she was about to be pulled back to the reality of her situation; a place she didn't want to go back to. It was one thing to be alone with Eric on a private island, in a house, enchanted by a witch, but on the other side of this lake, once they hit the mainland, it was back to running from Isabel and trying to figure out why and how Godric met the true death. The weight of why they were leaving the house began to set in; Eric could feel the emotional pull from Sadie and he glanced back to look at her. Worry filled her body and dread was personified on her face. Sadie leaned her head back on the headrest and tried to focus on something on the mainland. Thoughts of Godric filled her head; she was going to finally get answers tonight. Sadie wasn't sure if she was ready. She closed her eyes for a moment.

_"__Do you like it?" Godric asked as he removed his hands from her eyes. Sadie looked at the exterior of the Dallas house, "It's finally finished." Sadie hugged Godric before running into the house. The house was large with boulders built into the exterior. There was a large bay window in the front so Sadie could sit inside and read on rainy days. Tall bushes were strategically placed around the yard. _

_Sadie cuddled next to Godric as he as he lay dead for the day in their large canopy bed. She traced the black tribal tattoos on his arm, around his neck, and on his chest. Sadie followed the tattoos until she realized Godric had awakened and was watching her; a smile planted on his face. He loved her warm touch on his cool skin. _

_Godric, Eric, and Sadie in Dallas at the new house. Eric popped open a bottle of True Blood and was talking to Sadie about his favorite places to feed from. Sadie noticed the displeased look on Godric's face before he came over and sat in between them, joining their conversation. Sadie caught Pam tilt her head and give Eric a look that went unnoticed by Godric._

_Godric introducing Eric to Sadie. The smile on Eric's face was more of a smirk. Sadie felt Godric's jealousy pulling at her. She sweetly smiled back and turned her attention back to Godric._

"What are you nervous about?" Eric asked pulling her back from her thoughts. They were on LA-6 East heading towards I-94 South.

"I'm not sure." Sadie said rubbing her temples with her index and middle fingers. "I feel like as we get closer, Godric gets further away. As I feel what you feel for me, I find that Godric's emotions towards me were completely different… Sometimes I wonder if…" She didn't bother to finish her thoughts.

"Do not second guess his love for you." Eric tensed and his playfulness in his voice was gone, "he did love you..." Eric paused, "but that is not why you are nervous." He glanced at her knowing there was a different reason for her nervousness.

"I worry that when I know the truth… I won't feel sad." Sadie confessed. She played with her fingers, twisting them together and pulling them apart.

"It's just my blood being dominant over his." Eric explained, "The memories will still be there, the emotions with those memories, but instead of your body looking to make Godric pleased, it will look to please mine now." Eric paused for a few moments, "The only way you would not feel sad is if deep down your body knew it would not please me."

They sat quietly for a long while; Sadie thinking about what Eric shared with her and Eric wondering how this information would affect the rest of the night. When Eric and Sookie had officially exchanged blood, his influence on her had never taken effect. Eric thought about this as he drove; wondering if it was because the exchange had been finalized when he was under the spell of the Moon Goddess Emporium witches or if it was because Sookie had not accepted to be 'his'. There were so many options why Sookie didn't take to Eric the way Sadie was already starting to.

The idea of Eric having an influence over Sadie's emotions did not sit too well with her. She wondered how many different times Godric's influence had swayed her decision making. Now, it was Eric who would be swaying how she sees things. Sadie wondered if Eric's influence had already started to pull her away from the sadness of losing Godric. Eric felt her unease in the car, it tugged at him like a thought that refused to leave his mind—it demanded to be addressed.

"Talk." Eric said to Sadie, not taking his eyes off of the road.

"I just don't get it!" Sadie exploded. It was as if she had been waiting for Eric to address the issue. "Years… thousands of years, I have been with-"

"_Had been with_" Eric corrected Sadie. She looked at him and took a deep breath before continuing on her rant.

"I had been with Godric for thousands of years, more than a millennia, and I don't know how much of it was me loving him or if was his influence the entire time. It's bullshit… and now, I'm not sure if I can even miss him, grieve for him accurately because I will never know if it's because you are influencing my actions." Sadie looked away from Eric and watched as the trees passed outside the car much faster than they should have. "So, if you don't want me to be sad over Godric's passing… I won't be? Or, if you don't like something I am wearing, I will be more inclined to change?"

"Not quite that extreme." Eric corrected again, this time looking at her, then back to the road. "You are still able to make your own decisions; I cannot will you to do one thing or another. But if we get to Bon Temps and you find the truth out about Godric…" Eric stopped, he thought about the situation, swallowed hard, then continued, "and you get upset-"

"Which will probably happen, Eric." Sadie said coldly.

"I cannot stop you from being upset, or crying, or whatever feelings you will have. You will only know how you responding to the situation affects me; what I feel in response to you being upset."

"How is that any different than knowing you're feelings from a simple blood exchange?" The confusion rippled through Sadie's voice.

"Not only will you know how it affects me, what I am feeling, but you may feel the urge to correct it. You will most likely be in a room full of people tonight when you find out about Godric. If your reactions upset me, you will most likely try to fix it. It's more of the blood encouraging you to put my needs before your own. I can only control you so much…" He peeked over at Sadie who was now looking at Eric. He gave her a smirk before returning his eyes to the road. "The fae have always had a resistance to our influence. While you may think that Godric's blood dictated what you thought and did… my guess is that being Fae counteracted that."

"So…" Sadie's voice lingered in the car. Confusion filled the space between them. Eric sighed, he was getting frustrated.

"You will know what I'm feeling." He said. Sadie nodded her head to show that she followed what he was saying. "With most Fae who have exchanged the blood, you will feel more bonded. Since the Fae are drawn to vampires and their immortality and vampires are drawn to the Fae's light… the bond is stronger between the two than between vampire and human. How do you not know this?"

Sadie leaned her head back against the head rest. How did she not know about the bond? What else had Godric not told her? She wondered if he knew about the bond between the two species. Questions filled Sadie's head and she wasn't sure if asking Eric right now was the best idea. She didn't want to doubt Godric or think of him in a bad light, but Eric offered so much more information than Godric ever did. In some ways, she felt like an adult who just found out her parents had a whole different life she didn't know about. The idea of Godric keeping secrets from her seemed absurd, but, now… was it really out of the question to think he might have? A growl ripped through the silence of the car.

"What the hell was that?" Eric asked alarmed.

"My stomach." Sadie sighed.

Alcide sat on Gran's porch with a beer in his hand. It was getting close to midnight and he wanted to be the first one to greet Eric and the strange visitor he was bringing with him. Alcide already had stress building inside him from Bill's phone call the previous night and now he had to deal with Eric. Since he had moved in with Sookie, the drama had seemed to drop to a level of 'Alcide-I-can't-find-my-keys-if-I'm-late-Arlene-will-kill-me'. This was a level of drama he could deal with and he would continue enjoy as long as it meant Bill and Eric left Sookie alone. The front door swung open and Sookie walked out to take a seat next to Alcide. Instantly she began slapping and swatting at the mosquitoes. It was obvious why vampires enjoyed Louisiana, the mosquitoes never bothered them and the humidity felt good on their cold skin.

"Day-gone mosquitoes!" she complained curling up next to Alcide. He could sense the corvette racing down the county road before it hit Sookie's driveway.

"Great" he took a swig from his bottle, "more blood suckers." The corvette came to a stop next to Alcide's black work truck and Sookie's yellow two-door. Eric got out first and looked at Alcide and Sookie before moving slowly to Sadie's side of the car. He opened the door and Sadie stepped out taking in the sight of Sookie's home. It was beautiful and quaint. Summer flowers sat in their mulch beds around the house. The porch light let a soft glow illuminate the area behind Sookie.

Standing next to Eric, Sadie looked even smaller, more pixie-like and delicate; Eric had a good foot on Sadie, the wide span of Eric's shoulders combined with the muscle definition under his shirt caused Sadie to almost disappear behind him. Alcide and Sookie were on their feet as Eric and Sadie approached the house.

"Good evening." Eric said to Sookie, Sadie could hear a businesslike tone when he spoke. Eric looked to Alcide, "Alcide." The two men nodded at one another acknowledging their presence. "Sadie, this is Sookie Stackhouse, she will be of great service to you this evening. This is Alcide Herveaux" Eric tilted his head, "He will be making sure I don't eat Sookie." Alcide looked to Sadie, "Alcide, Sookie, this is Sadie. She was Godric's. She is now mine." While his words didn't mean much to Alcide, Sookie understood what the last sentence meant. For a quick moment, the feeling of being safe crashed into Sookie as she could hear Bill's voice telling Eric she was his. The thought made her dizzy and Sadie tilted her head to the side as she picked up on thoughts coming from Sookie.

"It is a pleasure to meet you." Sookie extended her arm to shake Sadie's hand, "I am very sorry for your loss." _How the hell did she get mixed up with Eric? She looks too sweet to be messed up with him and all of his bullshit. _

"Thank you." Sadie replied warmly. "I got mixed up with Eric because of Godric. I'm sure there is a reason for all of Eric's bullshit." She smiled at Sookie.

"Oh, Sadie is Fae." Eric said smiling at Sookie. It was comical to Eric to see Sookie get her thoughts picked out of her head the way she had done to others so many times before.

"Is she royal blood like me?" Sookie asked not sure if she was excited to meet another fairy or if she was taken back at someone calling her out on her thoughts. Sookie wasn't used to the one who had to guard her thoughts from the world. She hadn't been this excited since she met Barry. The thought of where he was now brought her excitement down a few notches.

"Better…" There was a dark tone that met Eric's smirk, "She is of one of the original Fae clans… before Vikings, before Godric's people."

A look of confusion and bewilderment struck Alcide's face. The tiny woman was not what he thought she would be. There was a pleasantness about her that Alcide hadn't expected. Sadie seemed an innocent and completely unaware of just how reckless the vampire world could be. He took the beer bottle and rested it against his cheek. The coldness of the beer felt good against his cheek. Alcide watched the woods that led to the cemetery and beyond to Bill's house.

"Why don't we take this party inside." Alcide suggested weary of what or who might be eavesdropping in the woods.

"Agreed." Eric said placing his hand on the back of Sadie's neck, as if to steer her in to the house, "If we can leave by two, we might be able to make it back to the house."

They all reached the front door and entered except for Eric. When Sadie couldn't feel Eric behind her anymore, she turned to see Eric give a small wave as he leaned against the door frame of the house. Sookie and Alcide had disappeared into the living room while Sadie stared at Eric in a bit of confusion.

"You can come in Eric!" Sadie heard Sookie yell from the other room. Eric gave Sadie a private smile before entering the house and wrapping an arm around Sadie's shoulders to plant a small kiss on the top of her head. As they entered the living room, Eric's arm dropped and the serious side of him was back.

"Can I offer you something to drink?" Sookie's voice rang from the kitchen. Alcide sat down on the couch letting the wooden coffee table separate him from Sadie and Eric.

"Water, please. Thank you!" Sadie answered.

"Sorry Eric, I'm out of True Blood." Sookie apologized as she returned to the living room with two waters and a beer for Alcide. She took a seat next to Alcide and looked cautiously at Sadie and Eric as they sat on the smaller couch opposite her. "So…" She looked at them both, "You want to know what happened with Godric when he met the sun in Dallas?" Sookie confirmed the obvious.

"Yes!" Sadie jumped at Sookie's question.

"What is it that you need to know? Did Eric tell you I was with him when it happened?"

Sadie looked at Eric, a streak of anger ran through her body. Eric felt it when she looked at him and he didn't bother to shift in his seat.

"I didn't think you needed to know." Eric responded to the anger that pulled at him in Sadie's direction. "Since you would find out tonight."

Sadie returned her gaze back to Sookie.

"I know how to get the information I need." She began, "This can go really fast if you will just let me hold your hand and think about that day with Godric. I promise not to intrude into any other thoughts, private or otherwise. I just want to know what happened so I can move on. Hearing that Godric met the sun… or didn't try to stop from meeting his true death… it just wasn't him."

Sookie exchanged a glance with Eric then Alcide before looking at Sadie. She considered what Sadie was asking of her.

"It's just…" Sookie tried to keep her composure, "I'm usually the one doing the… probing." Sookie looked at her glass of water.

"Sookie if you're not comfortable,"Alcide said softly, placing a hand on her knee, then looking towards Eric, "I'm sure Eric will understand you not wanting to allow some stranger to dig through your head."

Sadie tried to answer Alcide, but was cut off when Eric spoke first.

"I understand, but she will not." Eric leaned in towards Alcide, "I told Sookie this favor wasn't for me, it was for Sadie." Eric turned his attention towards Sookie, "I will double your compensation."

"She must really mean something to you, Eric." Sookie said curtly, a rudeness lingering in her voice.

"Godric really meant something to her." he retorted.

"Please…" Sadie tried to ease the tension she felt pull at her from Eric as well as the tension in the room. She looked at Sookie and then to Alcide with a pleading in her eyes. "I don't know what I can offer you in return, but I need to see what happened to him." Sookie held her stare.

"Sookie do you remember when Bill went missing and you would not stop until you found him?" Eric's smooth voice filled the room as he took Sookie's attention away from Sadie. "And when you did find him he was with Russell in Mississippi?" Sookie's look went from Eric to Alcide back to Eric and then to the floor. "Imagine having never found him. Not knowing where he was or if he was even still alive. How would you have felt?"

_Alone. Lost. Broken. Like a hole was in my heart that couldn't be fixed._

"That is exactly what this feels like." Sadie said having listened to Sookie's silent answer to Eric's question. Sookie nodded her head at Sadie.

"Okay" she agreed, "but you are not allowed to invade my personal thoughts"

"The way you invade your friends' thoughts?" Eric asked with a smirk.

"Give it a rest!" Alcide said directing his attention to Eric. Sadie moved closer to Sookie and fell to her knees. She turned back to Eric who was slow to drop his stare from Alcide to Sookie.

"Do you want to see?" Sadie asked Eric.

"Will Sookie feel Eric in her head?" Alcide asked with a small growl in his voice.

"No." Sadie assured him, "Eric will be in my head and I will see in Sookie's." Eric moved to sit on the floor next to Sadie without dropping his gaze from Alcide. "Here," Sadie took Eric's hand and placed it on her thigh just under the hem line. "Sookie, may I see your hand." Sookie gave her hand to Sadie, palm side up. "Just think about that day, when you saw Godric, and only think about that."

"You don't have to worry about me only thinking about that!" Sookie said as she closed her eyes and tried to relax. Sadie took her own hand and placed it a few inches above Sookie's, palm side down. A neon purple light formed a translucent bond between the two palms. A light of the same color surrounded Sookie, making her skin appear neon purple. The light that flowed around Sookie trickled out of Sadie's palm, down her arm and began to illuminate her the same way it did Sookie. The light felt warm under Eric's hand but it did not light up his skin the same way.

Alcide watched as the light started to flow through the two women, connecting them. Sadie began to probe into Sookie's mind. It was empty at first as Sadie could feel her concentrate on only the day with Godric. A stairwell began to form as Sookie ran up the stairs. Sadie followed Sookie, but Sookie could not see, feel, or hear her. When Sookie reached the top of the stairs, Sadie looked out onto the roof top. She saw Eric standing there with Godric. Sadie gasped as she could see Godric standing there, awaiting the sun. Sookie's memory of Godric was the first time Sadie had seen Godric since he disappeared. He and Eric were arguing about something; Eric was yelling about them being here and Godric explaining that they should be here. Sadie ran up to the memory of Godric to listen better to what he was saying.

_"__I will keep you alive by force!" Eric growled at Godric._

_ "__Even if you could, why would you be so cruel?"Godric asked. _Sadie ran her hands down Godric's face.

"No…no, Godric what are you saying?" Sadie pleaded as Godric spoke to the memory of Eric in another language. "No, Godric please!" Sadie whimpered as she tried to make out what he was saying. Blood tears ran down Eric's face as he said something Sadie could not understand. Eric fell to his knees in front of Godric, pleading with him. Sadie looked at the memory of Eric, she could feel the pain as Eric felt it in that moment. It hurt her in a way that she didn't think was possible; the hurt she felt coming from Eric was worse than the pain she felt when the lawyer came to her house to inform her of Godric's true death.

Sookie's memory of Godric looked down on his progeny and could feel the sadness Eric had for Godric's decision. Godric begged Eric to let him go, his voice laced with torture. More tears of blood began to run down Eric's face and Sadie felt her own sadness for Eric mix with his sadness. She felt the urge to comfort Sookie's memory of Eric. She knelt down beside him to try to wipe the tears from Eric's face but the tears would not wipe away. She turned back to look at Sookie who stood by the stairs watching the two vampires say good bye to one another.

"Get over here and help!" Sadie yelled, but Sookie could not hear her.

_"__I won't let you die alone" Eric told Godric. _

"What?" Sadie yelled turning her attention back to the memory of Eric, "No! You're not allowed to die either!" Sadie sat back on her butt and pulled her knees up to her chest. "You're not allowed to die, either!" Sadie sobbed into her knees. Sookie set a hand on Sadie's back as she knelt next to her. Sadie looked up to see the blond in a yellow sun dress. "You can't hear me…" Sadie said to her.

"No, my memory can't hear you." Sookie pointed to the memory of herself in the pink and white sundress as she watched Eric and Godric. "But I can feel how hard this is for you…" Sookie wrapped her arms around Sadie as they sat there. "No one should have to go through this alone." The two women watched as Godric commanded Eric to not meet the true death with him on the top of the Hotel Carmilla. The sun began to come up over the horizon and Eric rose. His skin was whiter than death itself in the early morning dawn that was beginning to come up across the sky. Sadie was split into two. She wanted to run to comfort Eric but she couldn't leave Godric, even though they were both memories.

Sadie could hear the memory of Sookie telling Eric she would stay with Godric however long she needed to. She could hear Godric tell Sookie that it wouldn't take long at his age and Sadie sobbed into Sookie's side. Sookie smoothed Sadie's hair back into her bun in a soothing manner her Gran used to do when she was upset. Sadie could hear the memory of Sookie trying to explain that Godric going to the Fellowship of the Sun wasn't smart and Godric explained that he doesn't think like a vampire anymore. Sadie could hear the conversation of God forgiving people and how Godric explained that he didn't deserve to be forgiven. Sadie pulled from Sookie's side to face Godric.

"Godric, you can't do this!" she yelled through sobs and tears. "You can't meet the sun…" Sookie hugged Sadie from the back. Godric asked Sookie to look after Eric and when she couldn't promise to take on such a task, Godric gave himself a private smile. He understood what he had left in place and understood the task he had asked of Sookie. Godric could feel the sun rising in the distance and he turned to face the dawn. "No…" Sadie stood up and grabbed Godric by the shirt, "Go inside Godric…" She grabbed his arm pulled at the memory, "please…" Godric told the memory of Sookie that he was not afraid, but rather, full of joy to meet the sun. "Full of joy?" Sadie cried. "How can you be full of joy to leave me? I'm here alone, worrying about you!"

_"__I want to burn." Godric told Sookie._

Sadie let go of his arm feeling defeated, it was as if Godric was talking directly to her. Sadie pulled back and stared at Sookie's memory of Godric. Through tears, Sookie's memory of herself told Godric that she was scared for him. Smoke began to rise off of Godric's skin as he was amazed that a human was with him in the end.

"I have been with you my entire life!" Sadie yelled, "Me! I am human-like! You took my family away the same way you take humans…" Sadie was yelling through her tears, "and now you're leaving me here!?" Godric was smiling as the memory of Sookie crying for him. Sadie shook her head at the memory. "I have cried, and laughed, and smiled, and yelled at you my entire life…" On the outside, Sadie could feel Eric tighten his grip on Sadie's thigh, "Who am I supposed to share my life with now?"

The sun was coming up faster now and Godric turned his full body to face it. He removed his shirt and let it fall to the ground. Smoke began to come off of Godric's skin and Sadie could smell the burning of flesh in the sun. Godric welcomed the sun on this morning. The memory of Sookie stood back to watch Godric while the Sookie that invited Sadie into her home pulled Sadie close to her, comforting her, as tears fell down memory-Sookie's face.

_"__Goodbye, Godric" Sookie said teary eyed. _

"No…" Sadie whispered as the sun came up and blue flames engulfed Godric. Sadie tried to run to him but Sookie grabbed her by the arm. Sadie fell to her knees in between Sookie and Godric and watched Godric burn. While one Sookie watched Godric the other watched Sadie.

Sadie pulled her hand away from Sookie and sat back, falling off of her knees, into Eric's lap. Eric wiped the blood from his eyes before holding Sadie in close to him. Sadie did not try to hide her tears as they fell down her face. Alcide passed a box of tissues to Sookie who handed them to Eric. Sadie turned away from Sookie and buried her face into Eric's chest as she continued to sob. Sadie felt Eric's pain, like a deep wound that had been viciously reopened. Eric felt the sadness in Sadie, it more than a millennia of emotions being pulled from the deepest part of Sadie and discarded.

"Is she okay?" Alcide asked fully aware he was the one on the outside; having no knowledge of what the three of them just saw.

"I don't know." Eric replied pulling Sadie closer to his chest. Sadie pulled herself from Eric and wiped her eyes. She then turned to Sookie.

"Thank you." It was difficult for Sadie to put words together. She was feeling several different emotions and couldn't pull her own away from Eric. She was torn apart after watching Godric willingly want to meet the sun, she could feel Sookie's lingering sadness, she could feel Eric's overpowering despair, and worst of all, she wanted nothing more than to privately comfort Eric. Sadie wanted to be alone with Eric and make his heartbreak disappear before her own. Sadie began to move and Eric moved faster to help her stand up. Alcide and Sookie stood to meet them. "I will not forget what you have done for me, Sookie." Sadie said as she straightened her clothes out.

Sookie looked at Eric as he watched Sadie. She wasn't sure if she should offer Sadie her help for the future knowing that Eric would certainly take her up on it.

"Do you have a bathroom?" Sadie asked looking up at Alcide. The look of sadness on Sookie or Eric's face was too much for her to glance at.

"Uh…" He was caught off guard by the question, "Yeah, it's right this way" Alcide led the way out of the living room and Sadie followed him without getting a confirming look from Eric.

"Thank you." Eric said to Sookie trying to hide the sadness in his voice.

"She really loved him." Sookie said knowing that Eric had also seen what they did.

"Yes." he confirmed. "But I'm starting to wonder how much he loved her." Eric would not look at Sookie as he reevaluated Godric meeting the sun and the things Sadie said in the memory. "I just told her not to doubt his love for her… and here I am… doubting it myself."

The two stood there in silence. Sookie understood the vampire world of lies and secrets; in a lot of ways, what she knew of Sadie and Godric's situation, reminded her of her relationship with Bill when they first met. Love, secrets, and 'the less you know the better', all mixed with 'you don't belong with Eric'. Sookie wondered if she needed a friend; one with boobs who didn't think with the smaller of two heads. A knock on the front door broke the silence between Eric and Sookie. She smiled at him politely.

"I should get that." Sookie said turning towards the front door.

"Are you expecting company?" Eric asked alarmed.

"No…" Sookie opened the front door and the blood drained from her face. "Hello, Bill…"


End file.
